Misery Loves Company
by Alex Nicole
Summary: A kidnapping story - Full summary inside. Jake's with the True Believers and is coming to grips about the truth of it all. Handcuffed to someone he kidnapped as well as newly turned victim, Jake has to get Diana Meade to trust him enough to run with him. At first it's logical, but Jake starts to wonder if what he feels is real or if misery really does love company. Set around Wake.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **A kidnapping story - Jake is still with the True Believers, and is now coming to grips about the real truth of it all. Jake hasn't been home in years and had always been the troubled sort, but Diana never thought he'd turned into a kidnapper much less kidnap _her_. Everything takes a turn when Jake is cuffed to Diana. Newly turned victim, can Jake get Diana to trust him enough to run with him? At first it's logical to keep together while trying to get back, but when Jake starts to realize he actually wants her around, he wonders if what he's feeling is real or if misery truly does love company.

**Note: **Idk what happened. I deleted what I had, started this and didn't stop. I meant for this to be a lighter story, but I kind of love where this is headed. As I've said, if no one's written it for me, I'll have to do it myself. I'm hoping to blow your minds a bit in this one. ;)

**Rated:** T (For Mature Teen - to be safe)

**Disclaimer: This is merely the writing of fan fiction. None of the places, characters, or other names associated with The Secret Circle belong to me.**

* * *

_**Misery Loves Company**_

**Prologue: _All We Know Is Falling_**

Sometimes when Jake closed his eyes in private moments - when everything went quiet and he was left in stillness - he can imagine his mother's smell. He could hear his father's laugh, the feeling when his larger-than-life hand would pat the top of Jake's small head, and the contrast of his mother's much gentler caress. The proud look in his father's eyes, and the brightness his mother's held when she smiled at him.

There was something absolutely sinister in the eyes he looked at now; something so dark that Jake wouldn't dare to wander through in fear he'd get lost. Eben's stare moved over the front of The Boathouse, the door opening as she finally stepped out.

The world of his parents slipped away as easily as they always did, leaving a numbness that was never to be fulfilled, no matter how many times he tried to right it by killing off each witch he was told to take out.

"You're positive?" Eben asked Blackwell.

Before answering, Blackwell's blue eyes, lit from the inside, watched as the brunette languidly walked to her car. A faint smile on her mouth left over from whomever she'd been talking to. Jake watched her too, wondering if he could see it somewhere on her. The hint that she had dark magic residing in her that had yet to be touched upon. There was no clue as to what she held within herself. The long waves around her shoulders pushed past with the breeze that hit her. She looked nothing of John Blackwell and even less of the little girl Jake once knew. Her long legs carried her the rest of the way to the car, the lights flashing twice as a sign she'd unlocked it with the button in her hand.

Jake looked back to Blackwell after she got in and shut the door behind her, but Blackwell kept his eyes there as if she stood and faced them. His features gave nothing away, but somehow Jake knew there was something soft he was feeling towards it - towards _her_ and the whole situation. He was selling his own daughters out for the chance of Eben letting him go free. Of course, Jake knew Blackwell's plan was to more than likely get to them, and get them out of town before Eben had the chance to get to them first, but Jake was sure someone was going to lose their lives trying to escape Eben and the rest of them.

"I'm positive."

Eben took a breath, knowing that one answer, was the answer to two different questions. His first being that she was a Balcoin decendent, the second that she had yet to trigger that side of herself.

"Positive," Blackwell repeated, straightening from where they were slightly hunched. If it had been day, they'd surely be caught. But on a late Sunday night, not nearly enough people were around to see them stalking around this one girl.

"Good. That's very good." Eben looked back to two of the "Muscles" they had with them. One actually cracked his knuckles before nodding to Eben, letting him know he understood the way of the plan. Jake grew an ominous feeling, stepping back when Isaac tapped him to do so. Like clockwork, the two Muscles moved to grab Blackwell who instantly jerked against them, trying to break free. His eyes scanned both of them who held him, and then went straight to Eben.

"I held up my end, Eben. You won't do the same?"

"You talk as if we're on the same team, John. We never have been."

"What is this?" Blackwell demanded, watching as Eben stood before him, holding a tube of liquid which he held up to Blackwell's mouth. The man balked, but one of the Muscles grabbed his jaw, squeezing until John resisted. He dropped the contents of the tiny bottle into Blackwell's mouth, part of it spilling out over his lip and down his chin.

Jake looked to Isaac who stood to his left, but Isaac was careful not to make too much eye contact, let alone step in at any time. It's how it had been lately, and the prospect of it worried Jake to the point of second guessing what he was doing with them and why he wasn't allowed to ask too many involving questions.

"It's retribution, John," Eben finally answered to Blackwell. "You should recognize it."

John's body gasped, the two Muscles only backing off when Eben gestured for them to do so. He shuddered, his eyes widening at the shock of whatever was going on inside of his body- however he was reacting to the poison. Jake wanted to look away, but couldn't. Not even when John's blue eyes went dull and slid up to disappear to the back of his head. Not even when he dropped into a heap onto the solid concrete. Not even when Eben spat on his lifeless body.

"Get him removed from here. It's taken a long time to find the right mixture. I never want to see him again."

Isaac grabbed Jake's arm, rushing him with a hard yank to follow.

"He just killed John Blackwell?"

"He was already dead," Isaac replied coldly and quietly.

Jake looked back at the body that was being picked up and found Eben already watching him.

Something about the whole thing was off, and he should have listened to himself when he still had the chance.

* * *

**Chapter One: _Swimming In The Flood_**

"Dad?" Diana called out, walking straight into the kitchen where he sat in a stool, reading over papers. Lately, he hadn't been in his office, but in the kitchen instead. Like he couldn't stand the four walls of his office. "Dad?" She called again, much quieter this time. He glanced up, forcing a grin on his face as he turned over the papers he'd been holding. She came around the island, hugging him and seeing him try like hell to force the black lettering from underneath one of the papers to come to the surface so she couldn't read what was there.

"How was your day?"

Loaded question considering her day had consisted of considering breaking up with Adam, catching him and Cassie at the abandoned house alone, where they sat rather closely. Their voices were hushed, but it didn't matter what they were saying when their eyes and body language spoke an entire sermon.

"Sufficiantly normal," she replied, pulling back to look up at him from the mess of paperwork on the counter. "What're you doing up still?"

He looked from her face to the complication on the counter, eyeing it like it was something he wanted more than anything to avoid. "Just going over bills."

But she knew better than that. They weren't bills, and she doubted it had a whole lot to do with work. Still, she smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to bed. Test tomorrow and I haven't even studied."

"Right, well, what about dinner?"

Eating at the moment sounded like the last thing she wanted to do. She was sick from earlier. The way her stomach had dropped and gone completely sour. "Already ate. Love you."

"Diana?" She stopped before leaving the room. "You know I love you..."

With a grin, she nodded. "You've never let me doubt it. Love you, too."

She escaped to her room, tossing her purse on the dresser before shrugging off her jacket. Her nightly ritual felt odd and empty. Suddenly, it didn't matter as much if Adam's favorite smell was used to wash her body. Instead, she used her own favorite smell, the one that was meant to relax the mind. She came out of the shower into a steamy bathroom, wiping down the mirror with part of her towel before wrapping it around herself, taking in the scent of mint that could practically be tasted. At least it was working, settling her mind and making her body feel languid in action. Only problem was, it didn't relax her emotions, and those were most of her problem. After she took the time to blow dry her hair, she stepped out into her bedroom.

As she pulled on undies and a regular sleep shirt over her night bra, the sound of her phone vibrating went off and with a quick glance at the screen, she had to take a deep breath before answering.

"Hey," she said as happy as she could manage. She regretted trying to sound anything than what she felt.

"Hey, where were you tonight? We waited for you..."

Adam sounded truly confused as to why she hadn't shown up. This was it. Either keep lying, and carry on the charade both her and him were in, or it would be time to cut it off. Diana wanted to be angry with Cassie, but she knew it was pointless. Cassie, after all, wasn't the one who was in a relationship. To be angry with Adam felt wrong as well. She found the only person she was angry with was herself, but even that didn't seem completely right.

"I came and I saw you two together."

There was a pause, and Diana knew from here there'd be no going back.

"You saw us together doing what?"

"Don't do that. Don't make me seem like the crazy, paranoid girlfriend."

"I don't know what you think you saw, but-"

"Stop right now. I'm not wrong here. You and I both know you feel something for her. Anyone can see it so long as you two are in the same room. It's like you have conversations through your minds, the way you look at each other."

"That's- it's rediculous, Diana. I'm with you-"

"You're _with_ me, but you _want_ to be _with her_. Just be honest with me, Adam..." Her hand rose to her hair, pushing back the pieces of fringe. She held it there, waiting for him to deny everything and tell her he loved her. When nothing came, she felt sick.

"I'm coming over."

"No. No, don't come here. I don't want to see you. Just give me the night."

"Diana, I love you."

Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I know you do. And I love you, too. But I'm not the one, am I?" She wanted him to argue it, reassure her of what they had together. But once again, nothing was being said, and she could hear the tightness in his voice when he spoke, the only clue that he was crying.

"Let me come over there."

"No. It's best if you don't."

"Please, Diana. Don't make any decisions tonight. Let me talk to you."

"Good night, Adam."

"Diana-"

She didn't let him say anything else, and hung up with a heavyness that came over her, making her sit on the edge of her bed. Her whole body wanted to crumble into itself. Tears fell, hot and fast. He'd begged her not to make decisions yet, but she knew she'd made one the moment she'd left the abandoned house earlier that day. She was going to break up with Adam - something she'd never thought she'd have to do even before they'd gotten together.

This was heartache, and she hadn't been prepared.

* * *

Jake listened to her cry, standing against the wall just outside her bedroom door. Isaac was somewhere downstairs with the rest of them. Jake's only task was to retrieve Diana, use her to bring the Circle to them. Now that they knew what two carried Blackwell's blood, Eben wanted one of them. Cassie hadn't been at home, and they hadn't known where else to look.

Of course, Jake could have mentioned a few places, but he'd kept quiet and shook his head when he was asked. Why had he done that? Why hadn't he just told them? He knew full and well that he'd be helping to kill his brother and the Circle he was in. One of the most dangerous, considering Blackwell's that Blackwell himself had pointed out to Eben stupidly. Still, it was a Circle his parents saw to protect, and more than likely would give their lives for if they were still alive.

But before barging into Diana's room, he'd heard a murmering voice, and something in the sound stilled him. He needed her off the phone anyway, so he stayed where he was. Just outside the door, he listened in on her side of some phone call which he eventually found out to be Adam. He was spending time with someone else in a too-close sort of way, and Diana was basically breaking up with him.

No matter. Better to do it now than to do it when she couldn't anymore. He could tell she'd ended the call, but as he stepped to her door, his hand stopped to hover over the doorknob. Jake could hear her crying; weeping that made something in him cringe against the sound. There was a loud banging sound from downstairs, jostling him back into reality. Charles gave out a sharp yell that was quickly cut off by someone, followed by a grunt. They were fighting him, and Jake had his own job to do. One that he'd taken, though he didn't know why.

He opened the door, almost running into her as she'd more than likely heard the noise. Tears still wet on her cheeks. Her face contorted into different things, and he hated the fact that the girl was merely in underwear and a t-shirt. The boys - no matter how much they hated witches - would want some time alone with her.

Her frightened eyes scanned him, walking back with each step he took. "Who-" But she didn't finish asking. Her eyebrows pulled together closely, trying to put together in her mind images mixed with new ones. Just the same as he was doing in that moment. "Jake?" When she figured she'd guessed right, there was another crash and she was back to being determined. "What is that? What's going on? Why're you here?"

He didn't answer, how could he anyway? Instead, he went to grab her but her hand came out, smacking the side of his head.

She tried to sprint passed him.

Jake's arm swung out, easily scooping her up against him at her waist, listening to her let out one hell of a scream. Diana had a lot of a fight in her, and he wondered if it was pent-up frusteration over her personal life as well as his sudden arrival. Her screaming continued as he struggled with her, surprised she was a whole lot stronger than he'd anticipated when adrenaline surged her. Her fists punched at anything and everything she could reach, so he held onto her wrists, pulling them to her chest as he held the whole back of her body against him.

"What are you doing?! What are you-"

They heard the fire alarms before they smelled the smoke.

Jake's stomach dropped, shocking him in enough time for her to give his gut a swift hit with her elbow, and she tried taking off. But Jake was quick, grabbing at her waist to push her sideways, causing her to slam into the entryway to her bedroom. He pulled her yet again, getting her chest against the wall so he could close in on her, pressing himself against her just to hold her in place. She wasn't letting up, screaming and grunting out in frusteration against him. Trying to get herself free from his grasp.

Smoke began to travel up the stairs, and it was a whole lot warmer in her room than it had been. He fought to get her to calm down or they'd get caught. With a fire and the alarms, it only gave attention to the houses around them, and in no time, the cops would be there. He had to get Diana to Eben or he'd be found out. As it was, it had been Ivan's specific responsibility to get Diana, but Jake had convinced him of letting him do it. If Eben found out, he'd be on his shit-list forever.

Turning her around, he shook her hard, watching her whole body still by the movements. It wasn't enough. As soon as he stopped, she swung out at him the best she could manage. He did the only thing he could think of and kissed her, hard. Her whole body went stiff, the reaction he'd been looking for. Without warning, he sunk down and scooped her up and over his shoulder, holding onto her bare legs as he rushed out of her room. The front door was open, Luke standing with his jacket over half of his face to shield himself from the smoke.

"We only have a couple seconds!" He yelled up to Jake. About halfway down, Diana sprung to life all over again and kicked in just the right area. Jake doubled over, dropping her on the steps, still trying to keep himself moving down them after her where she landed perfectly still on the floor at the bottom. He cursed between his teeth, bending to scoop her up again, with fire burning like the one that was now in his crotch area.

From a distance, sirens could be heard. Two different ones running in the same wave. He carried her out, her eyes closed and her mouth half open, dangling in his arms without any other choice since she was passed out from the drop.

"She fell hard!" Luke yelled to him.

"No shit," he muttered under his breath, coughing on the smoke that had filled the foyer.

"I can take her. I know her!"

Luke was new, but he'd supposedly trained for witch hunting his whole life right there in Chance Harbor. Still, Jake didn't trust him, only knowing him for as long as they'd been in Chance Harbor for six days, didn't make any difference.

"I've got her," he told him firmly. Thankfully, Luke didn't argue him.

He set Diana as nicely as he could in the back seat of the SUV and lifted her legs to place over his lap as he jumped inside. Luke got in on the passenger side, hitting Doug's shoulder as he put the car into Drive.

"Go, go!"

The tires squealed as they sped away from the burning house. Jake looked back, watching the dark smoke take up the whole front of the house.

"Where's her father?"

"Isaac took care of him."

"Took care" meant killed, in hunter talk. It was a much nicer way of saying _murdered_. Jake stared at Diana's form, how graceful and solaced she seemed when she was like this. It didn't matter if her dad was dead, considering she'd be dead within a few days, maybe even hours. Even if killing him and setting her childhood home on fire wasn't part of the plan, it shouldn't have mattered to Jake.

But it did.

He swung around the corner, leaving Ivan and Luke to take Diana to a secluded area in one of the boats along the shipyard they'd claimed. He didn't want to, but he wanted to settle with Isaac exactly what the hell had happened, and why the plan was changed so dramatically.

As soon as Isaac came into view outside the dingy motel, Jake grabbed his collar and pushed him back until he was able to slam him into the wall.

_"You killed him?!"_ Jake was practically screaming, worked up over something that didn't concern him in the least. The only thing he was there for was to rid the witches whom he deemed responsible for his parents deaths, and that included the Chance Harbor witches. Still, Charles Meade didn't have powers anymore. And Diana would be less likely to comply once she found out her last parent was dead. Still, it was a plan of action he hadn't been told about, yet even Luke had known.

Isaac rested his hands over Jake's, trying to pull them away, but Jake wasn't letting up. He pulled Isaac forward only to shove him into the wall with a loud thud, yet again. "Jake," Isaac said slowly, keeping his voice low since they were outside. "If you're upset over this, how will you be able to kill your own brother?"

Forcing himself to let go, he gritted his teeth and shoved away from him, turning around to gain a bit of himself again. When he spun back around, he watched Isaac who's blue eyes followed him, pleading with a quiet strength and unforgiving nature. "C'mon," Isaac said, leading him into his own room. He didn't let the door shut, but the witch hunters were the only ones in the motel as of then.

"I told you, yes." Isaac's eyes looked to Jake's, trying to get a sense of where his head was at, which was a normal thing between them. Between most people who talked to Jake. No one could ever get inside of his head. "You said the others were going to be killed together? Here at the shipyard?" Jake asked the plan again, seeing in Isaac's face if there was any change, which meant a change of plan he'd yet to learn about.

He merely nodded. "This is a particularily important coven. You know that. We've got one Blackwell, and we need the second. I did what was necessary in order to collect one of them."

What bothered Jake about that was how he'd made them sound like objects- things to collect.

He watched Isaac turn his face away, hiding something important that was written in his features. Another sign Jake took as a strange one, his eyebrows pulling together as he began running through a collection of thoughts that wouldn't quite clear up enough for him. "Communication is important here, Isaac. Especially if this Circle is particularily important. Your words."

"Eben shares what needs to be shared."

Jake's eyebrows grew even closer. Isaac was never one at defending Eben, only their sole purpose for what the True Believers did, so why was he starting now? "And this Circle," Jake continued saying, "being as important as you said it was, has to have every once-witch who've been stripped of their powers, killed as well?" He now knew why it bothered him so much, aside the fact that Diana was now an orphan... "Would you have killed my parents if they'd still been alive?"

Isaac turned to him again, his mouth in a thin line, but he didn't respond, and Jake took it as a _yes_.

"What aren't you telling me, Isaac?"

Jake could hear a ringing in his ears. Part of him wanted to run, but the bigger part of him wanted and needed the truth of what was going on. Of what he hadn't been told.

"Your brother..."

A horrible foreboding sent Jake into a whirl of shades of red before his eyes.

"My brother," he repeated, almost not recognizing the sound of his own voice.

"He died, Jake. He's gone."

Jake stopped in his tracks before Isaac.

"What aren't you telling me?" Better yet, there was something else that itched at him, that had been for weeks. "What have you lied to me about?"

Isaac's mouth opened, but his eyes looked passed Jake. Turning his head, his eyes hesitating before leaving Isaac to see what the man he'd once called his mentor was looking at, he spotted Eben coming into the room. His casual stride left something a lot less casual in Jake.

"I was hoping Isaac's closeness to you wouldn't present this problem. After all, you're great for using." Jake watched the man move around the room, an aura surrounding him that hadn't been four weeks prior- the last time he'd seen Eben. "You've presented a great problem to me, Isaac." Jake didn't bother looking to Isaac, too nervous to find out what Eben was planning on this uncalled visit. He wasn't supposed to show up until the next night. "Jake wasn't supposed to know about any of this. He was supposed to be taken out in time with the rest of them. Was I not clear on instructions?"

Jake chose this time to speak. "You had a plan for me all along. It's why I've hardly been told anything." Neither were questions, and Eben didn't take them as that.

He merely gave a grin as cold as the Arctic, his glare hotter than the depths of Hell. Something was in Eben, and Jake was sure it wasn't anything less than demon.

"Your brother died, and that presented a huge problem last night."

"Why's that?" Jake boldly asked him.

Eben settled where he stood, his hands leisurely clasped before him. "You became a part of that Circle, Jake. You can't be trusted any longer."

"Trusted? I've been doing this with you for two years. You've trained me. I've helped you kill people. If that's not loyalty-"

"Your loyalty died when your brother did. The moment you became one of them."

Jake took a step forward, urging the man he wanted more than anything to watch burn, to understand. To save his own life. "But I'm not one of them. I never have been. Nick took that away the moment he was born. There are six born into a Circle, and with Nick's birth, he became the start for my family line. I don't have any part of them!"

"Doesn't matter who was born when, Jake. He died now, and that means you're next of kin. Your blood is his blood. You complete their Circle. An interesting fact, I learned from Blackwell and we can't risk anything with you."

Jake felt a flood of sweat gathering between his shoulder blades, around his temples and hairline. "So, what? You're going to kill me? Is that what you planned on last night?" He raised a pointed finger at Eben. "You know what happens when you kill a witch? Their energy is left behind. The stronger the feeling, the stronger the energy." His hand lowered. "And the amount of revenge I'm feeling right now-"

"Is it as much as your fathers?"

Jake froze.

Something wasn't right. Nothing was right. Why was his father brought up? Why did Eben look so damn pleased?

"Are you getting it now, Jake?"

"No." But unfortunetly, he was.

Eben's head lifted back a bit, making it look as though he was looking down at Jake. The smirk on his face grew as Jake's chest shook with an uneasy breath.

Eben's head lowered again, his smirk unwavering. "He sold someone out to save his own life. Did you know that?" Jake said nothing, but there was movement from beside him. Isaac, whom he'd forgotten was in the room with them. "But in the end...it didn't do much to help him."

To speak the words that were on the tip of his tongue would be a turning point. He knew Eben would never say it unless he was asked the direct question. A question Jake _needed_, but didn't _want_ the answer to. From here, he could press on that he didn't care, maybe cut some deal. But in asking this question, it let Eben know he'd never continue on the way it was now. Now, with Jake aiding them on their quest to rid witches of the world. Only one hunters group in the United States out of a measly hundred around the world in other countries, doing exactly as they did. But he'd been on one side of this from the beginning.

The side of his parents.

"Did you kill them?"

Like acid, it sunk down below his clothing, burning through whatever it touched to the very core of him which was never as vunerable to get to as it was that moment. And it was that moment of hesitation Eben took before answering. The moment Eben nodded once, and spoke it through his vulgar mouth.

"I slit your father's throat, then I let your mother burn."

Before Jake could get his hands on him, to ring out anything and everything that resided in Eben, a hand rose to stop him. Jake's whole body went completely numb before he dropped to the floor. He knew the way he fell should have hurt him, but he couldn't tell if he was hurt or not. He could hardly tell if he was still breathing, the magic Eben was using was suffocating him, but the tears that fell from his eyes let him know he was fully alive.

Eben landed a kick to Jake's stomach, sending him rolling over his arms, but he still couldn't move them. His cheek laid against the dirty carpeting of the motel room, his tears soaking into it as Eben leaned over him and gave the smallest, no humored chuckle.

"You're as pathetic as your father was."

A blow came to his head from a hard object Eben had concealed and pulled from under his coat in the waistband of his jeans. The pounding headache coming from the place he'd been hit, was like a dizzying pain he'd never known. The agony sent his stomach into a roll, causing him to gag and nearly puke. Though the second blow that came didn't bring pain and instead, knocked him out cold.

Jake never had much of a conscious. It came to him as a swirl of emotion instead of actual words, moving throughout his body and mind to awaken something in him that he'd put to rest years ago. Or maybe it hadn't ever been there in the first place. Guilt struck him, first in his chest like the blade of a blunt knife which made him gasp when he woke. It rung through his ears, reminding him of why he was waking with such a pain in his skull. He jerked to rise, but pulled a weight with him. His eyes scanned around, blurry at first try, but they cleared and he saw what had stopped him.

Diana Meade.

Their wrists couldn't be far apart, held together by iron cuffs that he could now feel as he registered them to memory. With dull ends meant to dig into your skin and draw your blood because iron, when touching a witches blood, deluded the magic inside. Jerking on them only caused more pain, and Diana winced against it, watching Jake readjust himself there so he wouldn't tug on them anymore. More for her benefit than his own, considering he was about ready to fight until he passed out again. Or rather, was knocked out.

"Why?" She choked out, her voice sounding raw as if she'd been screaming for quite some time. He stared at her, but he didn't want to. He wanted to look away, but couldn't. Her hair hung around her face, the lingering smell of mint he could remember from her clothing when he'd lifted her was completely gone, or drowned by the stench of rust, rot, and sea water from around them. Under her eyes were darkened, and her lids hung down as if she couldn't muster the strength to keep them open all the way. They both were sat, but she leaned against the side of the boat they were in, her legs dirty as well as her arms. She wasn't shivering, but he was cold, and he had on much more clothing than she did. She must've been passed the point of being cold, which wasn't good at all.

"Did they hurt you?" His own voice didn't sound as clear as it normally did. He didn't want to know if the reason was he'd gone a long while of being out, or if her very broken down appearence were the reason.

Instead of answering him, she talked as if he hadn't asked anything in the first place. "When they brought you in, I was worried about what they'd done to you." He stared at her, wondering if she might have been delusional because why on earth would she be worried about _him_? "They took off one of my cuffs and put it on you after they threw you down next to me. I tried waking you up. But I could see you breathing, so I figured you were fine." There was the bitterness he'd been expecting finally. Still, he said nothing. What could be said? She'd worried over him, even bitterly and against her better judgement when- "You took me from my home, and I was worried about you. I should have hoped they'd hurt you. I should have hoped you'd be gushing blood." She spoke through her teeth, but Jake could tell she didn't know the worst of it.

"They killed your dad."

Her whole face crumbled from anger and exhaustion into something completely different.

"You're lying."

He felt sick. Hours before, or maybe days, he'd been willing to help kill them. Now, he didn't know what he was doing. "I'm so sorry, Diana. I don't know why they did. I don't know why-"

She attacked him. Giving out a shriviling scream, she jumped at him, her fist striking his face first before she began to beat his neck, and then his chest. He let her, practically biting his lip as if it would help in holding himself back from stopping her. His arm lifted all around as she moved, the cuff digging further into his skin. He could see the older, dried blood on her free wrist from where the cuff had first been placed. The chain jingled around, no louder than the sound of her grunts and screams that turned to sobs. Someone rushed in by the noises, stopping right in the open doorway that Jake suspected was watched at all times. The guy watched with interest as Diana let out the devistation that no doubt rolled within her.

"How could you let them?! How could you?!"

A blow to the spot he'd been knocked out in, and the whole place spun around him. He grabbed her the best he could manage, their cuffed wrists, her right and his left, getting in the way. When she shoved away from him as much as she possibly could, he didn't watch her. He kept his eyes away from her.

He couldn't stand to see the emotions there.

* * *

Awakening brought heart break all over again, but it was a dull ache this time. She could feel her chest expand with every shuddering breath, her heart wanting nothing more than to release the light inside of her that kept her alive. Diana knew her father would want nothing more than to have her fight until she simply couldn't any longer, but at what cost? Losing her father, her last parent, drove the fight right out of her leaving her cold and helpless.

She opened her eyes against the light, noting how it seemed much brighter now. _Slept through another night_, she thought to herself. Beyond shivering, she was cold right down to her bones. Her head lifted, seeing Jake. Now she remembered he'd been apart of it. For a reason she'd yet to unveil, he'd kidnaped her, all the while her father had been being murdered.

Did it hurt for him until his last breath? Was he calling out for her? Was his body burned in the fire that was set? Was he still alive, helpless and wishing for a better way? Did he think she was dead, or that she still had a chance?

Because that was right, she still had a chance. To be alive was the chance, now she just needed the opportunity. One thing was sure, and that was the need to escape. Surely, everyone would be looking for her now. How much of her house was left?

Tears didn't come, but they might as well have for the way she could feel her face twist her features into the agony she felt.

Diana pushed herself up from the floor, noticing that Jake had tried to cover her with the leather jacket he'd had on, only getting part of her legs. The sleeve was caught on him because of the cuffs, but even as something in her warmed to know he'd done such a small gesture, her mind told her to knock it off. He was the sole reason for this whole thing, and she wasn't about to get soft toward him for helping to murder her father. The cuffs clinked as she pushed the jacket away, and she tried to still her movements. Jake didn't stir and she didn't want to wake him.

He looked less tired and worn as she'd hoped. Here she was, with her knees scraped up from fighting and being shoved and pulled around, dirt on her hands and on her legs from crawling over the floors, looking for escape. There wasn't one...yet.

Unfortunetly, this was the time Jake decided to wake, his eyes blinking open, looking from her legs all the way up to her face. Recognition spiked his memory, making him groan and sit up quickly, her cuff tugging at her wrist causing the pain to ache a bit before he stopped moving, noticing like the last time, that his movements meant hers, and it hurt her more than him apparently.

"How long was I out?"

"I think it's been another day."

"Another? How long have we been here?"

"I was put in her half of a whole day before you were set in with me. You came in the morning."

He stared at her, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm using his free hand. "How long have you been awake?"

"I just woke up ten minutes ago."

She was hungry and tired, and thirsty beyond everything. She was absolutely weak.

"What I mean is, have you slept before then?" She shook her head at his question, wanting more than anything to put distance between herself and her captor. "Look, Diana-"

"Don't. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you have to understand-"

"I understand perfectly well, Jake. You kidnaped me while they..." She let out a puff of air, looking away from him because she couldn't stand to see him look the way he did. Nothing on his face, but his eyes were full of a hurt she didn't want to know he felt. "They'll be looking for me," she told Jake. He seemed to get what she was saying to him.

He nodded. "I'm counting on it."

They sat in silence for a couple of hours, Jake left his jacket between them as if he were giving an OK for her to use it, but Diana didn't touch it.

When someone came in, they both sat up straighter. Diana hadn't seen this man before, but Jake's face grew grim.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Isaac won't be in for another hour. We just got back."

"From?"

"Not allowed to tell you anything anymore, Jake."

The guy's dark eyes scanned over Diana and she tried her best to curl her legs under herself, pulling the hem of her shirt over the front of her thighs with her left hand as best she could. It didn't help in adverting his gaze. She could feel it on her skin, creeping over her. She shifted and looked toward the door, thankful he was too busy staring at her thighs to notice her own intent.

"Where's the other guy? The one who guards the door?" She asked him, seeing Jake's head turn slightly toward her out of her peripheral vision.

The nasty guy smiled lazily. "He's gone out."

"Gone out to do what?" Jake demanded to know.

The guy shook his finger at Jake as if he were a naughty child. Diana's whole body quaked with the possibility of getting out.

So, this guy was the one meant to guard the door, which meant there were no others. Diana's heart began to pound against her chest. Like a bigger animal stalking it's prey. The guy took long, slow strides to the side of Diana, farthest away from Jake.

"I wouldn't," Jake warned. Diana wanted to give him a look that would shut him up from ruining what plan she was forming, but she kept her face forward.

"Deprived of attention?" The guy asked her. His hand lifted, hovering over her thigh and hand. She held back the tremor of shakes that wanted to come over her, but she couldn't help the trembling. Fear, anxiety, and adrenaline, all surged through her veins and on the outside, she simply looked scared. "You're disgusting, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun, right? You were born into one hell of a body, girl. Even at your young age."

He'd thought she was a shell of a person, an object. An object of disgust, according to him. But it was just as well considering Diana felt the same. She took in a strangled breath, wishing to whomever could possibly hear her thoughts, that she'd be given the strength to do this and escape. Her magic wasn't working, but the Circle wasn't with her, so she didn't expect it.

"Don't touch her. I'm warning you this last time." Jake spoke through his teeth, sounding like some sort of beast of a human, but it didn't matter. The guy was basically ignoring him, his hand running up her thigh now.

"Are you shaking 'cause you're excited?" He whispered into her ear, the only one disgusted here was her. She waited, hearing him sniff around her. "I just want a little peek. Just one. I wouldn't put my dick in you if you were the last chick on the planet." She felt revolted, wanting to heave right into his face. "Witches are an abomination..."

He got close enough and that's when she sprung. Her left hand grabbed his face, her other hand yanking Jake's weight with her as she dug her thumbs into his eye sockets. He yelled out, grabbing her wrists, but she flung him sideways getting leverage over him. When she felt her thumbs get deep in, she pulled back because of the sickening wave to roll through her stomach. She couldn't go through with it. Through all the pain she was in, all the grief, she couldn't muster up enough strength for revenge like that. Jake took it from there, though. Thankfully, it was his right hand that was free. His elbow lifted high up as he positioned himself over the guy, and gave a blow that caused an intense cracking sound.

Diana looked away from the blood that instantly poured from the obvious broken nose. When another crack came, she could tell the guy was out, or possibly even dead. She wasn't given time to contemplate if Jake truly was a killer, or if killing just had to happen in this case. Three blows to the guy's face, and Jake was up, tugging her along. The pain on the outside didn't yet match the inside, and so she let him pull her around, knowing it was best to let him lead the way in getting out. Her ribs expanded with the intakes of breath she was taking, trying to be as quiet as possible, but with Jake's heavy booted footsteps, she thought the point moot. His jacket swung around between them with every corner and rushed move they made. Her feet padded along, cold and practically numb now.

When a completely different guy came around the corner, Diana drew back, bumping into Jake's side.

"Well, well, well..."

The stranger stomped right up to Diana, yanking her arm as Jake swung his own, landing a weak hit to the heavy, dark haired guy. "Ivan," Jake choked out the name as the guy took Jake's throat in one of his large, husky hands and nearly picked him him up off of his feet.

Diana did the only thing she could think of. She used her cuff to slam the metal against the guy's temple. Unfortunetly, it wasn't hard enough and his head merely jerked to the side and he turned on her. It was enough time for Jake to grab hold of his jacket, and use the sleeve to swing around Ivan's thick throat.

The guy sputtered spit everywhere, sinking to his knees as Jake towered over him, pulling and yanking. He dragged Jake around a few steps, and Diana knew it was going to take a bit more in trying to get the guy's air to be completely cut off. She jumped to help, grabbing hold near Jake's hands as well as she could, lifting a foot to push against the guy, and pull back on the wrapped sleeve. Eventually, his wheezing stopped and his whole body slumped, his arms hanging in dead weight at his sides.

Jake pulled away from the guy, and she heard the body thump down to the flooring of the closed-in hall before they disappeared the way he'd come.

Cold air started blowing in against her skin. She knew they were close to the outside, but she didn't know how close. If only she could see, if only she could breathe in the fresh air that awaited her. When light struck her eyes, she took longer in getting used to it than Jake. He looked one way, and then another, and Jake pulled her along with him as they carefully, but quickly, ran down a walkway. When they got to the road that led in from the main one, Jake side stepped it, running along with her as she stumbled, stepping on rocks and other things.

"Wait!" She called out to him, breathing heavily. "Let go! Get away from me!" She didn't want to go with him. Sure, he'd helped her get out, but she was sure it was more for him than for herself. "Stop!"

"We can't stop. There's no time."

"I don't want to go with you! Get the hell away from me!"

He spun, coming to a halt right before her as she bumped into him. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand, giving a harsh shake. "You can't get away from me, we're cuffed. You're safer with me than without me, you understand?"

"No-"

He didn't give her time to refuse him, instead, he bent down at the knees, grabbing her butt to lift her over his shoulder. She remembered this. She'd fought him on this and had dropped on her stairs, everything going black before she had time to realize what had happened, or what was happening. So this time, she didn't fight him. He was slower, but he still made good time in getting to the road. Once there, he set her down.

"This can either go badly, or it can save our lives."

"We need someone to break the cuffs!" Because that was the only thing on her mind. The farther away from him, the better.

Jake ignored her, traveling down the road, keeping her on the farthest side of the road. He walked along, letting her travel on the grass where patches of dirt still were. No doubt her feet were cut up, and she was embarrassed to be in her underwear. Thank God she had put on a sleep bra at the very least. She tried her best to use the jacket to shield her, but until she found bottoms, she wasn't going to be comfortable. She wanted pants before she wanted shoes.

When a truck started coming, Jake turned as it came closer, lifting up an arm to signal it. But it didn't stop. Jake swore, turning back around and walking still. She felt exhausted, and he must have noted it from her.

"Don't stop now. We've gotta keep moving."

"Weren't you ever told to stay in one place when you were lost?"

"We're not lost, we're trying not to be found."

She sighed, walking along, knowing there had to be cuts on her feet from the rocks.

"And I didn't have parents to tell me anything."

So he'd noticed how she'd switched the words from "Didn't your parents ever tell you..." Diana squashed the bit of guilt she felt for him, replacing it with the reality of the situation she was in. "How far are we gonna go?" She asked him.

"As far as we can. They're staying in Chance Harbor, but they'll send some out to come for us. If they don't happen upon this exact road."

Her fear spiked again. Worse than being cuffed to Jake was having to go back and wait for whatever they planned to do to her.

When another vehicle could be heard, Jake stilled as if he expected to see one of them. When his arm went up to signal to the person, she rested a little easier knowing Jake would have taken off with her in tow, had it been one of them. Of course, he _was_ one of them. What exactly had happened that got him cuffed to her?

Thankfully, the truck stopped. With it was a trailer full of yard equipment. Diana raced with Jake to where the truck had pulled over. The guy's window was down and he leaned out, spitting on the ground as he looked them over.

"We need a ride out of town."

"Pretty thing you've got there."

Jake's chin lifted. "Keep driving. We'll find another ride."

"No!" Diana practically screamed. Not only was this the only person to pull over, but he also carried thick scissors meant for cutting solid branches in the trailer he was hauling. Also, anyone who favored her was more likely to help her get away from Jake. It was dangerous, but the best option available. "We're coming." But as she tried to run around the front of the truck, Diana stopped mid-step because Jake wasn't budging. His eyes stared into her face with a loathsome expression.

"Are you stupid?" He asked her.

"Rude to talk to a yound lady like that, boy."

Diana wanted to hit Jake all over again. "I'm getting in the truck. This nice man wants to give us a ride," she managed a grin to the man who practically beamed.

"Why're you two cuffed? Where ya been?"

He must have been an out of towner, working for the pay because people like him didn't live in town. Chance Harbor was filled with good All-American families and fisherman. Not country men. Still, she used the fact that he found her attactive to her advantage.

"We were kidnaped-"

Jake yanked on the cuff so hard that her whole body slammed into him and she let out a yelp.

"Hey now!" The man yelled at Jake, opening his truck door.

Jake ignored him, staring down at Diana who fumbled to get away from him as much as she could manage. "Shut your mouth. Drawing attention to ourselves is the last thing we want."

She spoke as low as him, and through her clenched jaw as well. If anyone had the right to be angry, it was her. "I'll draw as much attention to myself as possible if it means getting away from you and your people."

The muscles in his jaw moved around, a long hesitation given until he caved. "Don't be stupid, Diana. I'm the only place where you want to be right now."

She didn't know what that meant, but it didn't matter. Jake was walking around the front of the truck and she got in first, knowing with their cuffs, it was the easiest.

The man's eyes looked over her bare, bruised and dirty legs, but he didn't seem to mind that fact. He looked passed it, his mouth forming a grin that made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Eyes on the road, please." Jake spat out.

"Yeah, right. You two hitched?" He asked as he sped up his truck. Diana let out a breath, feeling like she was free finally.

"She's my...cousin."

"Cousin, eh? You two seem pretty close."

"It's the cuffs," Jake spoke flatly, but the man laughed at him.

They passed one town before the man - Steve - decided to fuel up. He pulled up to the gas station, looking at Diana before getting out.

"Maybe you should stay put, girly."

Jake frowned at the man's wavering eyes.

"Can you break us apart?" She asked him. "Maybe grab those sheers?" Jake jerked on her arm, making her mouth shut instantly at the dull pain it created in having them dig further into her skin. The man left them behind when she'd turned her head to glare up at Jake, hating that he managed to look so menacing even to a older man like Steve. "We're going to have to be seperated eventually."

"Why, so you can go running off and get yourself caught by them, lead them back to me? I don't think so."

She didn't deny that it had been her plan, but not the caught aspect. "So I can move around without having you yank on the stupid thing and make me bleed more. It hurts, you know. Even if you don't feel _anything_." His green eyes moved away from her, staring straight ahead where there was nothing but an old man leaning against his parked car, eating mini donuts from a package, his coffee resting on the top of his car. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but the main one she had always wondered about was obviously a no-brainer. Where had he gone to? Oh, just to hunt down witches and destroy lives. "You should be ashamed of yourself." Jake had the audacity to look annoyed with her, his head thunking as he let it hit the window, his eyes again looking away from her to the side of where they were parked. "What would your parents think?"

It was the wrong thing to say, and there possibly was never a good time to bring them up, but now seemed like the worst. His jaw clenched and his head whipped aroud to face her. "They're dead. They don't think."

Her head shook as she spoke, looking back and forth between his eyes. "You can't possibly think they'd be proud to know you turned out like this."

"Shut up, Diana."

"Even if they're not here, I know you still talk to them from time to time. I know you do because I do, too!"

He said nothing, and in the silence, Diana was breathing hard. She felt so much hate toward him- so much anger. She just wanted to know why he'd done everything that he did, not knowing how much more there was to his story with two years missing out of the few hours that she'd witnessed.

It was silent mostly, except the moment Steve began talking about how he hated traveling for work.

"Why'd you start?" Diana asked him, truly curious.

The older, gruff man didn't need any time in thinking over his actual reason. "A woman."

"A woman?"

He nodded, grinning though the look he gave the road seemed far away, as if he could see her before them. "Isn't it always a woman? You all have magic in those smiles of yours."

He glanced down at Diana, embarrassing her enough to where she couldn't help the smile that spread over her own mouth. She looked down at her hands that rested over her lap, playing with the drawstring of the sweats that were too big for her. Steve had tossed them to her, not having the decency to at least look away as she pulled them on, pointless considering how much of her he'd already seen. The man was somewhere between nice and creepy.

"I wouldn't call it magic," Diana said, thinking of the Circle, and then of Adam. "Not all are...captivated enough."

"Sure they are," Steve told her, trying his hardest to convince her. "That's why we keep moving. It's why I did. I hated being weak, and she was too good for me."

It was late at night when they reached another town, but Diana hadn't known until she was shaken awake. Jake covered her mouth as if she would scream, but seeing his face for some reason settled her. She felt a slight pang of anger toward herself, knowing she should have been feeling anything but settled when it came to him. It was good to know though, how he'd thought of her screaming at the sight of him. Her head lifted and she noticed how she'd been lying against him. What's more is that he'd let her. Steve wasn't around and they were parked.

"Time to go." He spoke quietly, but rushed and forced.

"Where?" She didn't want to leave the warm heater in the cabin of the truck.

He started to open the door, glancing around out the window around the gas station they were in. Jake's jacket fell from her, leaving her to wonder how it had gotten on half of her chest in the first place. It couldn't have been Jake. He'd been nice enough, or as nice as to be expected by a kidnapper, but this repeating act of kindness was making her head hurt at trying to figure out why- if it had even been him in the first place.

"We have to go before he gets back."

"I don't want to leave. Not...like this."

"You mean not with me."

It wasn't a question, and she didn't deny it.

"Just cut us loose. I'll travel with him."

His eyes dropped to hers as he stepped out of the truck, the wrist cuffs tugging and digging and she knew more blood had been drawn. He ignored her pained expression and kept pulling on it, trying to get her to come with him just because of the pain.

She wasn't budging.

"You want me to leave you here with a stranger? In the middle of nowhere? Alone?"

She gulped without it being noticed, or so she'd hoped. "Yes."

For a second, she thought Jake was actually going to leave her. He seemed to be considering it, looking around her face as if contemplating the idea. Her nerves snapped somewhere inside, causing her to actually become frightened by the prospect of being left alone. Jake was the closest thing she had to home, after all. Yet the moment he scoffed and shook his head at her as if she were a joke, that all fell away. She glared at him.

"You're somethin' else," he told her mockingly. "No. I'm not leaving you here. You'll get me killed."

"I won't say a word!"

"You've said too much already. C'mon before I have to drag you by your hair."

"You're a horrible person."

He looked at her like she were nothing but gum he'd nearly stepped in on a sidewalk. "Just hurry up and move."

"We should at least write something to him. A note," she whispered as they went along. The cold ground didn't feel good.

"You're idea of romance is strange."

"What?"

"He's old. He's a creep and then some," Jake whispered in a tone that made him sound grossed out. She moved with him, lowering herself to stay hidden as a guy behind them pumping gas, frowned at her action. Jake's hand reached out, straightening her, and not nicely. "Stop making us look obvious." Letting go, he used his right hand to pull out the large cutters they'd seen before getting in way earlier in the day. With another look to the door, Jake spoke quickly, turning around and tugging her to follow.

She'd have scars by the time they got the cuffs off.

Jake stuffed them under his jacket, between his jeans as they walked down the road, more lights ahead giving her a bit of hope.

"Nice plan you got here, Jake. Where the hell are we going?"

"This is a small town. We should hit a motel."

"You been here or something?"

She tripped, gasping as her foot scraped the pavement along the side of the road. He looked at her in the corner of his eye, but did nothing more than that. Everytime she slowed, he'd stop dramatically, waiting for her to catch up a step. It wasn't as if they could be seperated at any sort of length considering the cuffs were no more than two inches apart.

The motel sign came into view, and Diana sighed in relief. Unfortunetly, Jake sighed in frusteration. She snapped.

"I'm sorry! I don't have as long of legs as you do!"

"A carriage isn't gonna come by and pick you up, Princess."

If she was annoyed before, she was even more so now.

Diana's legs stopped completely, and she bent, putting force into the way she yanked on the cuff. It hurt her probably more than it did him, but she considered it worth it when Jake's whole body jerked to a stop and he side stepped, complaining and grabbing at the cuff, though there was nothing he could do to fix the pain she'd caused. He turned an angry glare on her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He spat out loudly through his teeth.

"Shouldn't you be trying to earn my respect instead of digging yourself into a deeper hole? _You_ kidnapped _me_, remember?"

For some reason, that pissed him off. And harder than she'd done, he yanked back his arm, wincing at the pain of it even as she slammed into him, trying in vain to keep from touching him.

"Keep your voice down."

"I'll scream if I have to, Jake. I don't owe you anything."

He breathed in and out loudly through his flared nostrils, angry with her and looming over her like he was someone superior to her. She didn't know this guy. This wasn't the same boy. The boy who acted out for attention, who later on was given up on. It wasn't attention he ever wanted, it was something else. But even so, he hadn't been this. He hadn't given any signs to turn out this badly. His parents, as she'd been told all throughout growing up, were a two of the warmest, most cherished people in the town. They'd done nothing but loved each other, and looked out for one another and their friends. Family being the upmost important thing to them. Nick had his share of issues, but he was anything but cold. Jake Armstrong too, had always had a sense of fire burning within him.

Little did she know that fire was created and placed in him from Hell by Satan himself.

"You're right." He let out a final breath, turning toward the motel they stood off to the side of now. She stared increadulously at him. Had he said what he really said? Yes, she was right, but she couldn't believe in all the stubborness Jake held in him, that he'd actually admit her to be right. "C'mon. We have to get these cuffs off, and work out a plan."

Little did he know, she had a plan of her own. And it wasn't one that included sticking around.

* * *

The woman behind the counter looked at them strangely, but he couldn't blame her. Diana was cuffed to him and looking battered. But in such a small town, he supposed the woman chalked it up to him being some sort of a woman beater, and kept her nose out of it. Part of him wanted to say something to deny ever lifting a hand to a woman, but it would be pointless and he kept his mouth shut. Diana was the one to thank her for the room and the room key after Jake had pulled his wallet out, using the money he still had, knowing it was going to start becoming more and more empty. Looking at the place from the outside, he guessed it would be the size of a closet, but he was used to this. The hunters all stayed in places where people wouldn't go looking, and people wouldn't bother asking. However, he'd never checked into a room with a female who wanted something from him as much as he did from her, much less one that was cuffed to him.

As soon as they stepped foot into the room, the key he tossed onto the mini side table. He was well aware he'd have to take the floor, but he'd slept in worse places before. As soon as she sat down next to him, warily he noticed, he aimed the sheers and tried continuously, pulling the cuff apart as far as possible. He'd hoped by some magic that wasn't his own, they'd break. And since he couldn't use his or hers, even together, they were completely fucked. Royally so.

He threw the sheers to the dirtied, stained carpet where he'd be sleeping, completely pissed off and tired all the way down to his bones.

Diana jumped, staring down at them as they clattered to a stillness that left them in complete silence.

"We need magic." Being helpless was not one of Jake's favorite things. In fact, he made sure to keep himself so far from the possibility that considering it was far fetched. Normally.

"We can't. The iron..." She'd obviously been told that when she'd been handcuffed. Or maybe she'd already tried and figured it out for herself. Either way, she was right, but they had no other option than to try. He'd told her as much and she stared at him until he gave her a serious look.

Her eyes looked down to the cuff and he pointed to a spot on them. It was worth trying. "Imagine this breaking apart." There was one type of magic that _could_ work through this, he just had to get it out of her. She nodded, opened her mouth but he grabbed her chin to stop her from chanting. Only when she jerked her jaw away from him did he realize he'd grabbed her and he let go instantly, not knowing why he'd touched her in the first place. He looked down to the cuffs, trying not to stare at her too long in fear he'd turn to stone because of the glare she was giving him. "Imagine it breaking," he said again, his throat sounding constrained to his own ears. After a moment longer, he could tell she'd finally taken her eyes off of him, probably trying to keep herself from lighting him on fire since he'd touched her and she obviously hated him, which he couldn't blame her for, no matter how much it annoyed him.

Little did she know he hated himself more than anyone ever could.

Together, they focused. He didn't know how much magic Diana had dumbly practiced with the others or on her own, but he trusted that she knew how to direct her energy- that he wouldn't have to hold her hand through it. He gave up before she did, cursing under his breath, squeazing his restrained hand into a fist and keeping from just pulling on it and ripping it from his skin. He'd deal with the pain afterward, so long as the annoying ache would just...fuck off.

"Don't do anything stupid, Jake. I'm attached, too."

He scoffed. As if he could forget that? Keeping his eyes closed, he breathed in and out slowly. If he'd listened to his instincts, if he'd left instead of offering to kidnap her himself...

Something soft touched him and he grabbed it, ready to crush it in his grasp but it whimpered and Jake's eyes flew open, seeing Diana wincing at him. He dropped her fingers from his hand and they slowly slid out. "Sorry," he apologized, but hearing it come out of his mouth seemed half empty. Diana tucked her hand into her lap, keeping her gaze off of him, which he was thankful for.

"I want to take a shower," she finally said after some time.

* * *

_**In Chapter Two:** Awkward moments that don't feel very awkward, Jake helps release her dark magic, Diana ecapes, both realize it's safer together than apart._


	2. Chapter 2

_"Don't do anything stupid, Jake. I'm attached, too."_

_He scoffed. As if he could forget that? Keeping his eyes closed, he breathed in and out slowly. If he'd listened to his instincts, if he'd left instead of offering to kidnap her himself..._

_Something soft touched him and he grabbed it, ready to crush it in his grasp but it whimpered and Jake's eyes flew open, seeing Diana wincing at him. He dropped her fingers from his hand and they slowly slid out. "Sorry," he apologized, but hearing it come out of his mouth seemed half empty. Diana tucked her hand into her lap, keeping her gaze off of him, which he was thankful for._

_"I want to take a shower," she finally said after some time._

**Chapter Two: _Born To Die_**

Jake stared blandly at her, wondering if she was kidding. But really getting a good look, he could see why she seemed not to be joking around, though why she would joke right now wouldn't make sense. Her hair was stuck to her temple on one side, pieces stuck out in places, baby-fine hairs stuck to her neck from the sweating and cold she'd endured. Her skin was blotched in places with dirt and black in other places, making it hard to tell if they were marks from the old boat or if they were bruises. Her eyes hung heavy, her shoulders even more so. And under those dark eyes were dark blue circles. Lack of sleep, depression... Didn't she at least deserve a shower?

Jake groaned as quietly as he could. "How are we gonna do this?" He finally asked her, seeing a small light spark up in her. He decided right then and there he'd never understand the female mind. There was so much not to give a damn about a shower for, and yet here she was perking up at the very possibility of getting dirt off of her body. He thought then though that if a shower was available he'd want one too.

"Carefully," she replied dryly. He wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic, or if she was actually meaning what she'd said. She stood up before him, and he watched her from where he still sat on the edge of the small bed.

"You're willing to take a shower with me?"

She balked. "I'm willing for you to stand _outside_ of the curtain while I try my best with only one hand."

"You're going to trust that I won't do anything?"

"I'm not trusting _you_, I'm trusting that family name of yours," she told him sternly, shocking him a bit. The fact that his family name meant anything to her was confusing. "I never knew your parents, but I knew Nick. Despite how he acted sometimes, he would have never disrespected a girl's privacy like that. I'm trusting him more than you."

Jake felt angry all of a sudden. "I'm not Nick."

Diana's eyes left his, looking wishfully toward the bathroom door. "I'm desperate, Jake. I just... If you give me this one thing, I'll do something in return."

The need to make a sarcastic remark to that came, but he pushed it down. She was watching him suspiciously, as if she'd expected something to be said. He stood, watching her eyes follow upward where he stood over her a few inches. "Fine," he told her flatly, looking away before he did something crazy like grin to comfort her.

He sat on the closed toilet seat, listening to the hum of the pipes through the thin walls. On one side was silence, while the other side had a fighting couple. There was banging and he wondered if Diana was paying attention to it, or if she was too enthralled over the fact that she was being washed clean. The smell wasn't one of mint as he remembered, but the soap that had been beside the sink that she'd taken and unwrapped was made to smell rather girlish. He couldn't imagine using it for himself. It smelled like some sort of flower, and the scent made him dizzy. He must have had an allergy to it, because he began to hullucinate, imagining the form of her behind the thick white curtain. One of her arms hung out, but she pulled on it everytime she went to get under the water. Her top hung between the inch of chain that bound them, his jacket was there too. They were both in somewhat of a humiliating situation that he was praying wasn't going to last longer to where he'd have to be the one behind the curtain, and deal with imagining her again. Seeing creamy white skin with soap running down it, the ends of her long hair providing water to travel down and off the ends to create tiny waterfalls. He groaned angrily, his right hand running over his face. He'd begun to grow a headache from the smell and the images. Images that stirred him, that he blamed on the simple fact that he hadn't had any in a long time, and she was female after all...

An asshole of a reaction, but still.

"Are you done yet?" He sounded a lot more rude than he'd wanted, but it shouldn't have mattered, damn it.

If she was bothered, she didn't let on. Her voice was light, tired. "Yeah, just a minute."

A minute. That's what she'd said _ten_ minutes ago.

But when the water turned off, he flooded with relief.

"Um, can you-"

He pushed the towel beyond the curtain before she'd finished what she was saying. He kept his eyes closed, even as his cuff was pulled and jerked around as she dried, or wrapped it around herself- he hoped to God she was wrapping it around herself. She might've been female, but he was smart enough to know in his mind that this was Diana Meade, of all people. His eyes still didn't open even when he heard the small sound made when the curtain was pulled open, knowing she was more than embarrassed to be seen in this way, much less having taken a shower with him literally inches away from her.

Jake let her lead him out of the bathroom to the sink just beyond the door where something clunked a few times. He risked opening an eye and saw she was back in her dirty clothing. It was the only thing she had, and for some reason that fact had left his mind. The sweat pants were rediculously huge on her, the drawstring pulled as tight as it would go, but they still hung low on her hips. He watched her throw something that was balled up in her hand into the trash, trying to avoid touching her as she carefully moved around the difficulty of their linked wrists. They looked oddly like the underwear she'd been wearing. She came back around, forcing him to turn and move with her like they were in some sort of weird dance. "What are you doing?" He snapped, watching her knee the cabinet closed under the sink. She didn't flinch at how he'd sounded. She merely frowned, her hand touching her wet hair.

"I was looking for a blow dryer. I heard most hotels carry them."

He was annoyed. Her house burnt down, they were no doubt being hunted, and she was worried about blow drying her hair? Was this all females, or just this one in particular? "I should find clothes," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

"I'll be fine in what I have."

He glared at her in the mirror. "They wouldn't just be for _you_. I'd like to be out of these cuffs and take a shower, too. Alone."

Her brown eyes caught his in the reflection, but she kept herself from saying anything. If only the cuffs... An alternative thought came to mind. If he couldn't make the sheers break through the iron, and their magic together couldn't do anything- there was only one type of magic that could work through iron. The magic she still had no idea was inside of her. Simply waiting for it to pop out of her, thinking that the desperation to get out of the cuffs was enough, was purely stupid on his part.

From what he knew, which wasn't much, she had to trigger it somehow. According to Blackwell, Cassie had it in the very air of her. Diana, however, was a completely different story. Not only had she been found out later- Blackwell himself hadn't even been sure right off the bat that she was his- she didn't carry it in her aura. She didn't carry it at all. Before all this, she'd been grinning happily, not a care in the world. When they'd seen Cassie, something about her had interested Jake simply because she was such a small girl who carried in her such a darkness, and she wasn't even aware of it. Of whom it belonged to. Of who she really was. But Diana, princess of the entire kingdom that was Chance Harbor, had the very same amount of darkness running through her veins, yet she was the polar opposite of Cassie Blake. At least, by looks she was. He didn't know enough, a problem that hung over him constantly.

He knew things of Diana, knew her when she was a kid and early teen. This was the very girl who'd chase the boys. Who'd watch them and learn from them, instead of hanging around girls her own age, wearing stockings under her little skirts. She followed Adam around like a puppy dog, doing as he did, pleased that Adam never did anything reckless like the other kids. He'd never been the type to do something that might scrape his knees. Eventually, Melissa had formed into their group, and then Faye, who'd only hung around them because of Melissa. Diana, like the other girls, had started wearing make up and joining in on school activities, and that had been around the time Jake had stopped watching- stopped noticing and soon left.

Something hit Jake then. If she was going to trigger her darker side, something dark was going to have to happen. Telling her to get tap into it wasn't enough, she'd have to _believe_ something was happening. She'd have to be in a place where survival would be crucial. She didn't even know it was in her, and all these years, despite who her real father was, she'd kept to the person that she always had been.

"We're going outside," he told her as he grabbed her arm, walking her backwards to the door. He peaked out looking down each walkway, shrugging his jacket on with some difficulty.

"Excuse me?"

"Walk with me, or I'll drag you."

"_What?_ Get _off_!"

He grabbed her, shoving her against the wall, which brought back a sharp memory from her room. One where he'd kissed her, and he could have sworn she was remembering too. "Do you want to get the cuffs off or not?" She glared up at him and said nothing, so he took it as a _yes_.

She might hate him forever for this, or she'd thank him after. Either way, they were going to be broken free.

* * *

It was somehow more embarrassing getting dressed rather than stripping off what she'd had on. She blamed it on the fact that she'd been so worn and desperate, as she'd told him, to clean her body of the muck of the previous days. She'd been beginning to feel as if being cuffed to him was some sort of sentence she'd deserved as they walked out of the room. Her mouth was dry again despite having let the water fall into her mouth when she'd been in the shower, no matter if it was luke warm, drinking it down to coat her sore throat. Jake took the keys with him, shoving them into his pocket after tugging on his coat with one arm.

They padded along the whole side of the motel, Diana's feet began growing cold all over again. She couldn't believe she hadn't gotten frostbite yet, though the thought of that hadn't even crossed her mind until just then. She stayed at his side, which was simple enough considering how slow he was walking. Getting a glance at his face, she couldn't tell if he was so deep in thought that walking slowly just came with that, or if he was thinking to walk slow for her.

Her thoughts began to sharpen as they began to walk behind the building. She feared some criminals would be lurking, watching and waiting to jump them. Even with Jake, she felt unsafe. Rightly so, she told herself. He was a murderer and a kidnapper. Thoughts of her father came to mind, but she quickly pushed them away, letting the numbness settle over her like a new close friend. "What if one of the witch hu-"

Without a moments notice, Jake whipped around, his hand grabbing her neck instantly. He shoved her back, her feet shuffling, trying to find balance and hopefully strength to fight him back until her shoulders hit something hard, and judging by the smell, it was a dumpster. Jesus. This was where she would die. In front of a dumpster, outside some drugged up motel in the middle of nowhere and faraway with Jake Armstrong as her killer. She began to claw his hand, and he shut his eyes as if he didn't want to see her face, his hand squeezing even further which adamantly cut off all air from her lungs. She felt a cough coming on, even a gag, but when her mouth opened wider for either, nothing came out but a strangled sound that terrified her to the very core of her soul. She stared at him, her eyes feeling hot and her head becoming fuzzy. Alarms went off all throughout her body and mind, the only thing screaming was her sense of survival, to breathe in air that would surely come if he was to just let go.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. The look on his face, the way he turned away with his eyes shut was enough to tell her he was doing this. Her death would actually happen. And the bastard felt the decency to actually feel sorry?

_No! _

Her arms flailed around, hitting him, scratching him, drawing blood on the side of his neck. Her legs kicked out, her hands pushed against him. Viciousness settled over her, making her nails claw at him unforgivably, wishing to draw more blood and get him off. Away. Go. Now.

_NO!_

Something in her raced to the surface, her fear colliding with an inner strength that held no bounds. Fear overcame her need for control, causing the absolute terror inside of her to swell- to bring out a wrathfulness that was greater than her entire being.

A burst of energy left her, taking a sound from within her that didn't sound like her own. Her body was lifted and sent into the air, free falling until the side of her slammed back onto the pavement. She choked, coughing on air which she greedily took in.

There was an overwhelming sense of adrenaline that should have left her hands shaking, but instead beckoned her to find Jake and take it out on him.

Her eyes wandered around until she found him, taking way longer than she had to rise, looking pained though she'd never felt more alive than in that moment. But something about seeing him the way he was, so many feet away from her, brought her back to reality. Diana watched him look at her, his eyes looking at her sadly, though she couldn't figure out why. "What just happened?" She asked him, her voice thick because it was so dry. Whatever had risen in her was now a dulling echo.

"I broke us apart. Or...you did. It's what you wanted, right?" He touched the side of his neck, bringing his fingers before his eyes to see the blood that she'd drawn from him in the very dim lighting. Somehow, she'd known as soon as she'd risen her head that his intention hadn't been to kill her. But why?

"What was that I just did?" He kept his eyes from her. "You know what it is, and you'll tell me."

"Let's go back to the room," he weakly tried to demand.

"Explain to me!" She got to her feet, feeling warm, but not wobbly in the least. Her mind was no longer tired, a buzzing keeping close to her concious.

"I will, once we're out of sight." He got up as well, looking around for the cuffs.

"Why'd you take me out here?"

"Because I didn't know how big it would be..." He looked passed her, and Diana's eye traveled in the direction his were faced. The dumpster was not only tipped over, but was bent in an obscene way. The cuffs Jake left angry marks on his skin, much like her own, but blood rose beyond a deep gash against his inner wrist that traveled quickly down his hand and between his fingers which he instantly put against his shirt before any of it dropped. "If you're bleeding, don't let your blood drop," he advised. "They get that, it's one step closer to your death."

Despite herself, and everything going on, she went forward to look over the wound. He covered it though, turning his forearm into his stomach against the shirt that was gathering blood. When the cuffs had broken, they'd basically sliced him. On herself was no more than what had been on the other before they'd taken it off for Jake's own wrist. They must have thought them being cuffed together would have made it harder to run.

They'd been wrong.

* * *

She stood against the wall watching as he washed the blood from his skin. Mixed with water against the pale white coloring of the sink, it looked a lot worse than it seemed. Or so he'd told her. Jake pulled his shirt up and off to use it for the gash, ignoring the way Diana had adverted her eyes when he'd done so.

"You wanna start from the beginning then?" She asked, crossing her arms, her eyes staring at the broken cuffs Jake had collected from outside where he'd set them beside the sink. Diana's face was hard to read, but he suspected she didn't exactly know how to act around him. Right now, she was settling on trying to be assertive.

Jake's whole self wanted to ignore the whole thing.

He had no idea where the beginning was, or where everything had started. He supposed the answer to that had been years ago- sixteen to be exact. But instead of thinking too much, and those thoughts leading dangerously around his parents which was always a subject that drove him into a black hole, he began at a safer place, more for himself than for her.

He figured this would result in some sort of breakdown, and though it would definetly make him uncomfortable, he couldn't begrudge her reaction.

But how was he supposed to start this?

"Jake," she snapped loudly, snapping him from his own consuming thoughts. He rested his hands against the counter, leaning down and staring straight into the sink that still had a bit of his deluded blood, almost turning it pink.

"You can do what you did- what you're capable of," he paused, "is because of your bloodline."

"My bloodline," she repeated flatly.

He nodded, still avoiding her gaze and his own in the mirror. He refused to lift his head.

"Which one? Meade? My father's?" He sighed heavily, switching from one foot to the other. "Just tell me." Her voice was so quiet, so careful. "How long you're taking is freaking me out."

That's what he was afraid of. "Your father isn't...your father. You're not his biological daughter."

She waited a while before speaking, and he glanced up reluctantly, not sure why he had to see her reaction since he'd decided only seconds ago that he didn't want to see it. She stared at the wall before her, her whole profile able to be seen. He couldn't tell what was there.

"But that's impossible. There's no way. A lot of things don't fit with that- we wouldn't have been able to bind the Circle without all six families bloodlines."

"Yeah, and the fact that you were born a Meade didn't change that. Look, I don't think it depends on technicality, it's not the most important part anyway. Your father isn't your father by blood. That's all I know."

Her chin dropped a bit, her head turning as her eyes lifted to his own. Disbelief, and pain. Her agony was something he wanted to fill himself with, maybe use it for self-punishment. When her bottom lip quivered, he knew tears would come. She spoke through an unsteady voice, practically a whisper. "How do you know this? My father never said anything-"

"I don't think your father knew."

"H- How do you know this? I don't- I don't understand..."

Jake turned to stare at her directly. Diana's brown eyes looked up at him in a silent plea.

"They've been watching you for a couple of weeks now," he confessed to her.

Now those eyes were on him. Angry, hurt, distraught. "You and your..._people_ were stalking me? Did it make it easier to kill my dad?" He should have counted on her wanting to flee, but he hadn't. He had to be quick in getting to the door before she could unlock the chain and open it. Her legs carried her there fast, but he made it in time to push his hand against it. The yelling next door was still going on from the fighting couple leaving Jake to figure him and Diana were about to run parallel with them. In the very least, they'd drown out whatever words were about to be said between himself and her.

"Get out of my way."

"You can't leave, and especially like this."

Her chest heaved. "Screw you! How dare you? Steal me from my home, let strangers _murder_ my father, which I can't-" She sucked in a sharp breath as if she could hardly breathe. "You can't even begin to know what- And then set my house on_ fire_? And not only that, but you kidnapped me!"

"Diana if you leave, I can't protect you."

She gave a laugh without any humor. "Protect me? Was kidnapping me protecting me? Was killing my fa-"

"I didn't know what they were doing!" He bellowed out, tired of being blamed for something he was upset about as well. Stepping forward as his own anger rose, she didn't bother backing away. He was just as mad as her, but he couldn't possibly try and get her to understand why. He had no right, and he knew that.

Her small hands rose into her hair as she turned away from him. "You expect me to trust you?" When she spun back around, he could see she was waiting for an answer he wasn't going to give. Her hands fell from her hair in defeat. "What do you expect of me, Jake?" He didn't know what he expected of her, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to delve into it. She gave up on both questions, trying for one she might get an actual answer to. "Who's my father?"

"I don't think-"

Her eyes shut as if fighting to control herself. "_Who_, Jake?"

"John Blackwell. He's Cassie's father...too."

He could clearly see she'd stopped breathing. "Cassie Blake," she stated for assurance. Jake's chin lifted before he gave a simple nod. Diana released a breath that said far too much for Jake's brain to form into one particular expression. "That name's been mentioned with our parents in the boatyard fire." After a few short moments, she turned the rest of the way to face him. "Where is he? My real father?"

"They killed him."

When her arms went out and slapped back to her sides, she looked up to the ceiling like she could see the sky beyond it. "What am I supposed to do?"

Jake watched her, knowing she wasn't asking him, and he was sure she wasn't asking herself either. Who she was asking was something only she'd know, because he wasn't about to ask. And it wasn't as if he could give her an answer because he didn't even know himself.

"Loaded question," he confessed to her without catching himself first.

"You swear to me, you had _nothing_ to do with my father's killing?_ Either_ of them?" Diana held her hand over her chest, her arm moving with the deep breaths she was taking. If only he could soak up some of the pain he could see there- take it as his own. He was used to this type of thing, not that he handled it any better.

Jake stepped forward as her hand fell back down to her side, but she stepped back, keeping distance between them to make it clear she didn't want to be near him. Which was just fine so long as she didn't leave the room. He put his palms together, willing Diana as hard as he could to believe him. He told himself it was crucial for her sticking around. If she left, she'd more than likely get caught, and if she was caught, they'd use her to eventually kill Jake just like the rest of them in the Circle. He had a better chance pulling her around with him as he ran from small town to small town, before coming back to Chance Harbor. And with Diana at his side, it would be easier to get into the Circle's good graces to defeat Eben and Isaac and their army of demented misfit toys.

"I swear on my _life_ I had _nothing_ to do with either. I didn't know either of them were going to happen. They weren't supposed to." He didn't tell her how he'd practically attacked Isaac over it, thinking that getting his emotions involved was too messy. Or risky. Or just plain uncomfortable.

She blinked once, taking a short breath before talking again. Her voice was noticably quieter. Gentle even. "Swearing on your own life doesn't mean anything to me." The blatant statement actually made his mouth open in slight shock at how truly honest she sounded, and even more so, unforgiving. Every word was felt like a fist to his abdomen because it was true. In the position he'd put her in, why should she give a shit to his life? If he was honest, her life had meant just the same only two days ago. But now he knew he'd come to rely on her just as much as she would him.

And she would, as soon as she found out that he was right about this.

"I swear on my parents' graves..." It was her turn to be shocked. Her eyes stared into his like she was seeing someone completely different standing before her. "That good enough for you?"

She scoffed at him. "What do you want from me, Jake?"

He answered right away. "I want you to do as I say."

Eyebrows lifted at him. "If you're trying to win me over, you're doing a horrible job."

_Nothing left to lose_. She was broken, but a numbness was settling in her eyes, replacing the warmth he realized just then that had been there before.

"You leave, and we're _both_ dead. You stay with me- fight with me, and we might have a chance. Which sounds better to you?"

"Neither. I want a third option."

Of course she did.

"And what will that be, Princess?"

She paused on the insulting nickname and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Call Cassie, have her come get me, go home and figure it out from there."

Jake almost laughed at her. Instead, he rushed to the sink, leaving the door free for her to run off like the scared little kitten that she was. He pulled on his stained shirt, stomping back over to her where she still sat on the bed. "Great idea, Princess Di. Lead Cassie here with the witch hunters following. Or better yet, go home to where they wait to take you again, and ultimately get all of you together to kill you. Awesome. Get to it then."

"What's your part in this, Jake? What happened to make them turn on you?"

He turned away. "More like I turned on them. Let's just say I changed my tune."

"You changed it too late." He faced her again, wanting to snarl at her for how pissed off he was, how difficult she was being. "You're still not telling me something."

"Believe it or not you don't need to know everything. You know what you need to know. Be grateful for that much."

"This is you asking me to trust you?"

He wasn't going to admit he needed it, just like she wasn't going to admit that she half believed the words he was saying, though she had no solid reason to. He'd done everything to break a trust that was never there- never to build up in the first place. "I never asked for you to trust me, but to survive and live, you'll have to see that I'm right in this. We keep moving, together, and it'll make it harder for them to track us."

"You still didn't explain what I did out there."

She was right. The conversation wasn't over. And now, the conversation had made him irritated enough not to care how to word it or make it softer for her. She was a big girl, she could handle her own feelings just fine. "John Blackwell comes from a very old line of witches." Jake pulled out the wooden chair against the wall between the door and the twelve inch old tv. "Balcoin is one of the oldest and strongest of bloodlines around the world, if not the strongest one left. Somewhere down the line, to cloak the name, it was changed to Blackwell. What makes the name so well known among this...lifestyle was that the bloodline comes from dark magic."

She suddenly looked sick, but she visibly swallowed, ridding herself of it enough to speak. "Dark magic," she repeated plainly. "Like...evil?"

"Something like that."

"Me?"

Jake shrugged. "It was as surprising to me as it is to you probably."

"I doubt that."

"Really? Homecoming committee? Helped with school events? Tutoring programs? Dating the town's Boy Scout leader?" She stared at him strangely. "Think I don't know _anything_ about you, Diana? I might not know who you are now, but I'm guessing it's not too different from how you were in Junior High or Elementry. People don't change that much."

She gave him a surely look. "Could have fooled me."

He wanted to mention hearing her break-up, but bit down on his tongue before anything could come out. He'd never had a problem retaining the thoughts in his head before, but something about her made him want to pile the pointless words out there and watch her sort through them. But he sure as hell wasn't about to bring up Adam, as it had sounded like a touchy subject when she'd been on the phone right before he'd busted in, and would be even more now with her so vunerable.

"Those things don't have anything to do with the person that I am. And Adam was never a Boy Scout."

He shook his head at her, mostly just frusterated with himself. "I'm telling you what I know, what I've heard and seen. What I heard from Blackwell. I think you just proved it to be true outside. Binding the Circle means no solo magic, and you did that and then some."

"But I'm not...evil. I don't-" Her words cut off as she looked down at the clasped hands in her lap. He could clearly see her struggling with herself. He felt sympathetic toward her; being something you never thought you'd be, and more still, that you don't_ want_ to be.

"You don't have to be," he told her then. "It's your bloodline. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the person that you are."

She sniffed as if holding back tears, and he was actually appriciative. "Something like that is... You can't help that it would affect the person you are. I already feel different." She paused, looking back up at him. "How long have you known you're a witch?"

"Since I found my family's book. I was...young."

"So you found yours before I found mine." It wasn't a question, but a statement, and one that she seemed to mostly say to herself. "Why didn't you leave the book for Nick?"

Simply hearing the name made him angry. "Because you're a bunch of kids. Leaving it in his or any of your hands would be a death sentence. Seems you found your way on your own though. Blindly."

"What do you mean, blindly?"

"None of you considered what this meant, or what it would bring. You're excited kids wanting to play with magic. Like a child to a lit candle. You had no idea what you were doing, and none of you still do."

"And _you_ did? You joined witch hunters that eventually turned on you, for whatever reason you won't tell me about, and now you're in the same position as me." He stood up, fuming and her eyes followed. "What does that say about _you_, Jake? Are you a child to a lit candle, too?"

"I'm done talking. We need sleep if we're going to be ready to get out of here in the morning."

"I have no shoes, may I remind you."

"And I have no clean shirt. I guess we're both in a screwed position."

He could tell she didn't like how he was talking to her, especially in the moment. She shook her head, her lips pursing. "I don't know what to be right now. Mad. Sad. I don't understand how to use that...magic. I don't want to feel that again."

He narrowed his gaze at her, wondering exactly what she felt. "It might save your life at some point," he pointed out.

She watched him grab a pillow from the bed. "You did that to bring it out in me, didn't you? Choke me?" Jake dropped the pillow down on the floor opposite of where she was sitting. "I can remember now," she informed him. "You closed your eyes and said you were sorry." He was silent, dropping to the floor and turning onto his back. His shoulder blades dug into the hard, dirty carpeted floor. "Was that to make me believe you were trying to kill me, or was that-"

Jake cut her off, unable to stand it anymore. He didn't want that conversation coming up, having forgotten that he'd done that until she reminded him. "Isaac talked loosely about triggering it and to trigger it, I thought if you tried to save yourself, it would work."

"Why did you do this to me? Why did you bring it out like this?"

Over all the things he'd confessed to her, she was finally crying over this one thing. He was baffled, not to mention utterly exhausted. Not only from the journey, but having to deal with her. She was a hard headed brat, and he was relying on her though he hated to admit it, even in his own mind. "Because it might be the only thing that can eventually save you. And I had a gut feeling about the cuffs. You wanted them off, I gave you a way." It had been true he'd figured he'd be more hurt than she would have been, and he was slightly glad. He didn't want to be the cause of any more of her pain. Not that it should have mattered to him, but trying to be a decent human was more difficult, or easier maybe, than he realized.

"I don't know how I should feel." Her voice was small.

"How about tired?"

She said nothing, but after a while, he could hear the blankets moving and her clothing rubbing against the hard cloth of the bed sheets.

Neither of them said good night to each other because...what would be the point?

* * *

The room was dark when she woke. The heavy curtains were pulled over the one window in the room. "Jake?" She softly called out. When there was no answer, she called to him a little louder. And her stomach fell when she crawled over the bed to find his pillow there, and his body gone. She glanced at the chair where he'd placed his jacket, that was gone too.

So...he'd left her.

Diana hadn't considered he might do that, after all, he'd been trying to convince her to trust him, though he hadn't flat out asked in so many words. Jake wasn't the patient type, and he probably had none left after dealing with her all last night. Her eyes started gathering in tears just as her mind told her that this was the third option she'd wanted just last night. For him to be the one to leave. So then why was she crying? Why did she feel betrayed in the worst way possible? He'd kidnapped her, told her the father that raised her wasn't even her real father. She had evil residing in her veins, to which she still couldn't believe but was swayed away from each time she imagined the feeling after Jake had choked her. He'd claimed to want to help, that they were stronger together than apart, which was what she'd felt binding the Circle.

And he'd left her.

The anger crept up, creating her few tears to drop down as she stomped to the bathroom. Before she turned through the small door, her eyes caught something in the mirror. Faint script was written in the bar of soap that he'd probably taken from the shower, resting on the counter beside the sink.

_Stay put._

Two words. Not giving any explanation or promise of return, but it was what she needed to know. It was what she needed in general, she realized. He didn't need to put anything else, though if it were any other person, she wouldn't have been pleased with just two words, and no explanation. Two words were exactly Jake Armstrong, who was coming through the door now. She spun, watching him throw a large plastic bag onto the floor which had ties on the top. He flipped on the light and stared at the bed until he noticed where she stood.

Half turning away, she tried wiping her tears up so he wouldn't notice them, but it was pointless. He was half across the room when he stopped himself.

"What's wrong? Did someone come here?"

"N- No, I just was thinking about my dad." Such a horrible lie, especially to bring her father into it. Truth was, she could have cried over him while falling asleep, but she felt was numb to it all. The fact that her dad, wasn't actually her birth father. The fact that he'd been killed. She couldn't cry. As if her body was in such shock toward the possiblity, that it didn't let her. Her mind grew hazed around that very subject, and she focused on Jake who was still staring at her as if he didn't fully believe her. His eyes went over her shoulder to the mirror and back to her face, but before she could see anything he might have given away in his eyes, he turned away, grabbing the bag to throw it on top of the bed.

"I got clothes." With a sniff, she righted herself mentally and walked the short distance over. He untied the bag, lifting it to let the contents fall out into a pile. She instantly grabbed a shirt, but he took it back right out of her hands. "That one's mine." He picked up another and offered it. "This is yours."

She held up the sleeveless shirt, seeing that it was not only sleeveless, but a crop top. He dangled the leopard print bra in front of her eyes, but she was shocked at the lettering of the shirt, the bra not as important. "Hot Mama?" She read to him, seeing the smirk he was trying to hide, as she was trying just as hard not to punch him. "I'm not wearing this in public."

"Which is why I also got you a sweater."

He handed it to her, but she yanked it from his grasp and threw it down with the rediculous shirt. "Where did you even find these clothes?"

"It's early enough. No one's really open yet." He paused and she watched him, sure that she wouldn't like the next thing that came out of his mouth. "I broke into the strip club."

"A strip club. You thought to get us clothes...from a strip club?"

He grew frusterated, turning his face to her instead of just glancing at her. "There isn't a mall here, Princess. I thought I was doing you a favor."

"There wasn't a thrift shop? There had to be some other clothing pla-"

"Nope," he quickly said, cutting her off and holding up some bright red mini skirt. Made of pleather by the looks of it. She didn't even want to touch it.

"My skin will not touch that thing. It's been on a stripper."

He sighed. "I figured you'd feel that way." He lifted a pair of jeans. "They're mens, but small, and I was smart enough to grab a belt."

"Smart enough," she scoffed, grabbing the worn jeans. They were better than the skirt, and she wasn't about to complain.

"I didn't get you any underwear. I knew you wouldn't wear them even if I washed them with soap in the sink."

"You knew right."

"Shoes..." He offered. They looked like Uggs, but they were cheap kind, which didn't have her complaining. She was thankful for something and the fact that they were warm. Lifting the bra, she stared at it in distaste, grabbing the little tag that read her exact bra size. Her head snapped up, but he was looking away, grabbing his own things and heading for the bathroom. The small smirk on his mouth couldn't be missed.

"Where'd you get the men's clothing?" She asked him as he walked away.

"A couple of the lockers had a change of clothes. They have bouncers and other bartenders, I'm guessing." He shrugged, the door closing.

She walked forward a few steps, her arms crossing over herself. "Are we leaving soon?" Diana called to him beyond the door.

"As soon as I shower. You got one last night, I didn't." He shouted back.

It felt strange. Domestic, but in the strangest way imaginable. And with someone she wanted to punch until her knuckles bled. Or maybe not so much, but she wouldn't have minded him getting a hit to the jaw on her behalf.

The shower turned on, a weird humming came from the pipes in the walls. Her eyes hit the mirror. _Stay put_, seemed to mock her now. Just moments ago, she'd been crying over being left alone. Completely alone. As much as she hated to admit it, even being around Jake was better than being completely alone. Still, she found herself yanking off the gross shirt she had on and pushing it into the black bag he'd brought in. She didn't know what she was doing. She was hungry and thirsty, and after she dressed, she chugged down gross tasting water from the sink she hung her mouth under. The last time she'd eaten had been the cookies Steve had offered her. If only the man she felt she could handle would pull up right outside.

If only- a lot of things.

She was out the door before she'd even let herself stop to think what she was doing. It was dumb to stay with someone who'd been meaning to kill her, someone who'd kidnapped her, and it was already messing with her head considering she'd only been contemplating running. It should have been an automatic response. And whether he'd known about it or not, her father had been killed by the people he was in association with. The sweater was roomy, but not warm enough. She wrapped her hands around herself, the belt holding her pants in place thankfully, though it felt strange to not have anything underneath. Diana's arms wrapped around herself, her hair probably crazy, but she didn't care very much, she realized. It was more scary than liberating to go out looking like a homeless person, carrying the black plastic bag with her, bumping against her knees as she walked quickly down the sidewalk.

Wanting to be home came with a burning within her chest. Despite what Jake had done, she felt horrible for leaving. Still, she couldn't. It wasn't right, and her father would have wanted her to get home. To get to the Circle. Adam as well would have wanted her to get home any way that she could. And Cassie, who was more than the closest thing to a best friend that she had, but also a sister. Half sister. She wasn't sure how long she'd walked, but she'd finally reached a bus station, that wasn't even open yet. Running up to the window, she looked around the glass, seeing that it opened at nine, and it was twenty mintues away according to the clock beyond the thick plexy window. So she sat and waited.

Diana must have been there not even three minutes when she noticed a black SVU pull into the pathway where the bus was supposed to be. She quickly stood, her heart slamming into a rythm that didn't feel good. The back door opened, revealing the burly guy she'd helped Jake rustle to the ground with his jacket. She should have known he wouldn't have died, considering his neck was so thick. He'd simply passed out.

"Let's make this easy, and I won't hurt you."

She dropped the bag and took off through the trees when she reached the back of the small building structure, hearing footsteps right on her heels. Diana screamed.

* * *

_What a fuckin' idiot_, Jake cursed in his mind as he went running down the sidewalk. His hair was still wet, but it was short and would dry in minutes. Though with how cold it was, he was betting it wouldn't be so soon. It gave him a chill as he ran, the new clothes he wore fit awkwardly, but he'd had to do what he'd had to do. Either Diana had taken off, or she'd gone looking for better clothes. But he knew to give her the benefit of the doubt. The girl was a fighter, and he should have known she'd fight until she couldn't any longer.

There were absolutely no cars on the two lane street through the small town, and he had to admit that was a worse factor. The witch hunters normally didn't do anything in front of unsuspecting people, not wanting to turn heads in their direction, but without anyone, it would be easier to pick her up.

He came to a screeching hault when he heard an echoing scream, knowing for certain it was Diana.

"Shit," he muttered, taking off around the edge of the sidewalk where he came to a screeching hault yet again. He backtracked as quickly as he could, leaning over the edge where the black SUV sat, idling.

He knew who was driving. Heading for it was probably a bad idea, but he had no other choice. Or as far as he saw it he didn't. He went straight to the window, keeping himself as casual as possible as he knocked on the window, trying not to pant as he'd run all the way there. Their regular driver, Doug, rolled down the glass looking nervous, so he kept it up halfway. "Jake?"

"You guys finally come for me? I'll go willingly. I wanna talk to Isaac."

"Isaac isn't who you talk to anymore. Eben wants you."

Jake made a show of rolling his eyes. "So take me to Eben then."

"We're getting the girl. We know you came with her."

He glanced around as if Diana would be standing somewhere around. "Then she must be following me. Where is she? Maybe I can talk her into getting into the car."

Doug made the mistake Jake knew he would. Just as he turned back to look at Doug, the guy was looking toward the lining of trees beyond the bus deport, talking about where she'd gone and who'd gone after her. It was just enough time for Jake to reach through the window and grab Doug's collar.

He grunted against Jake's pulling, his hands fumbling to find the button for the window. Jake knew, so he stepped onto the side footing for the high seated SUV and gained the uphold, yanking Doug's head through the window enough to make him close the window on his own neck. Jake twisted his arm to let go, pulling it out so he could rush to the other side and open the door just as Doug's mind had finally figured out to roll it back down. With a punch to Doug's neck, his head hit the window, the fight in him lessened from nearly strangling himself. He sputtered as Jake threw another blow to his temple, and another to his neck until Doug's whole body stilled and he slumped against the door. Jake held his fingers over his pulse.

Doug was dead, and Jake left the SUV idling as he took off for the thick line of trees.

Another scream came, making Jake push even harder to get through the brush and branches that smacked him in the face. The marks were sure to match the pretty ones Diana had left on him. He was making a shit tone of noise, but there was extra noise that came from somewhere around him. He kept fighting the brush to get through it, until something cream colored came into view and yelled his name when she saw him.

His stomach dropped as he grabbed both of her arms, holding her panting and quaking body before him as he looked her over. He was shocked speechless, not knowing where the wound was, or how bad. She must have known he was worried, not knowing his own expression as she shook herself in order to shake him.

"It's not mine! It's not mine!" She yelled in his face. There was a relief that flooded over him like a tidal wave. "He's dead!"

"It's fine. Let's go. We have to hurry up."

Where there was one car, there was more, and no action went unheard. They would have known someone went after Diana and not getting back to them meant they'd be calling everyone in. They reached the SUV and Jake put Diana in the passenger seat, ignoring her protests that she was fine. He went to the other side with a quickness, opening the door and yanking out Doug's lifeless body to hit the ground, not giving another look to him as Jake stepped in and slammed the door shut behind him. Diana buckled up as Jake put the SUV into Drive, and hit the gas, driving over the sidewalk, making him and Diana both jostle until they hit the pavement again.

"Who was it?" He asked her, still panting. He glanced at her, seeing how she looked herself over, covered in blood.

Diana clutched a hand to her chest, heaving in breaths. He didn't know how long she'd been running around, or how she'd fought to get free. "The guy we thought we killed before we got outside. At the boatyard."

Jake sighed heavily. "Ivan. And I knew he wasn't dead, but we didn't have a lot of time."

"I was stubborn. I'm sorry. I thought my dad would have wanted me to run."

She was talking about leaving him back at the motel. "What did _you_ want to do?"

"I-" She paused in hesitation to answering. "I wanted to turn back."

"You need to start trusting your instincts more." He could attest to that.

"Is it true? Did Nick die?"

Jake's stomach dropped. He spoke through a clenched jaw. "You guys have a heart-to-heart?"

"He held a knife to my throat and told me you had to die with the rest of us. I told him you weren't part of the Circle..."

And that's when he'd told her, Jake worked out in his own mind.

"They turned on you because you're one of us. Nick died, and it brought you into the Circle."

She was quicker than he'd thought.

"How'd you get the blood?" He asked, ignoring what she'd said of Nick and the Circle.

"He slit his own throat over me."

Jake looked to her from the driver's seat, just to make sure she wasn't bluffing, though why would she be? Her eyes stared straight out to the road, her breathing slowing as they made progress down the deserted highway.

"How'd he do that?"

Diana was quiet for a long time, her head turning to look out the window at the trees they passed. "I wanted him to, so he did."

She'd willed him. That knife had probably been held to her throat and Jake hadn't been there to help. To help and be the one to cause the blood instead of her. He felt more anger in that moment than he had the passed two days.

Her power was so strong that she'd willed his mind...

"He didn't understand why he was doing it. He was so...shocked."

He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. A technique Isaac used to calm himself before getting on the phone with Eben. Everything felt so distant, and yet so near. He felt like he was able to get into their heads, having been trained by the leads, but he was so distant from where they needed to be, which was in Chance Harbor. Somehow they had to get back without being seen or noticed. "We hit the next town and we're ditching this car for another. No doubt that they're tracking it as I speak."

"And we'll eat?"

He nodded, then pausing as he thought of her clothing. "There should be a bag or two in the back. We don't go without a duffle and an extra pair of clothing."

Diana glanced at him, but unbuckled, crawling into the backseat to ruffle through the bags he knew would be there. He watched her in the rearview mirror, hearing clanking before she lifted the few weapons. Her mouth twisted into one of disgust. Jake had always looked at them indifferently before, now he understood her feeling toward them. She pulled the bloodied sweater over her head and let it fall to the side, pulling off the shirt next. He adverted his gaze to the road from the rearview mirror, but he couldn't help that he needed to keep watch behind them. Or so he told himself. She had her back facing him, her shoulders moving as she pulled a new shirt over her head. Her skin looked just as creamy as he'd imagined as she'd showered, but he noticed the bruising against her coloring and frowned. The shirt was way too big, but she didn't complain in the least. He cleared his throat uncomfortably when she came back into the front, and buckled herself in.

"Don't try to leave again."

"I wont."

The cold morning woke her, wrapped within herself there in the passenger seat that was only half leaned back. Her bones were chilled, her muscles tight from the way she slept. The window was fogged from hers and Jake's joined bodies, warmer than the outside, heat trapped within the beat up car they'd traded with the SUV they'd had to ditch- and that group of teenagers had been so happy about it. Her hand lifted, her fingers rubbing against the glass to show the gray outside that surrounded the parking lot of the rest area they'd pulled into. It was nearly deserted, only a few trucks parked for the night like they were. Jake's body was stretched out in the back, his head resting on his arm since she had his jacket to use as a blanket, something neither of them had mentioned when he'd put it into her lap before getting out to get into the back. Both of his legs bent to fit the length of him, one of his hands was over his chest, his elbow hanging since his body was too wide for the seat. She looked back outside, able to see the sign beside the highway that a truck passed just then, water spraying to the side of the ditch there.

It wasn't raining anymore, but the dark clouds suggested it would again. She knew that sign read _Spokane_ and however many miles left until they reached the city.

She'd never really left Chance Harbor before, and had certainly never traveled to the Eastern side of Washington State. She'd fought hard not to go so far last night, waking up and seeing the highway sign that told her where they were heading without her having asked yet. Jake convinced her it was the best for at least a few more days. They were going to stay there until contacting someone from the Circle, and figure out what to do from there. They'd stopped to eat, which surprised her when she found she wasn't hungry and had to force herself to eat the burger on her plate. Even now, as her stomach rumbled with hunger, all she could do was sit still, unable to tell if she was breathing or not, consumed with thoughts that crossed between distraught and lost. Absolutely lost. As lost as she was not knowing where the hell they'd slept for the night.

The one person she would have made sure to connect with by now would have been her dad. The only one who would have been first on her mind, despite where he could be now- in the clouds or wherever people went, was her father. Optimsm had always followed in her persona, but Diana could hardly feel anything that even so much as resembled the feeling. It was the worst when falling asleep, and somehow even more when she woke up in something other than her bed. Stuck with someone who wouldn't give her any answers to his actions, or open up to her in the least. Show that he felt something and wasn't just the skin of a human being, the shadow of someone he could have been had he not chosen the route he did.

Diana could hardly grasp that only days before she'd been ready to organize an upcoming dance. She wondered what everyone was doing for Nick, what exactly had happened. Why Jake was impossible to get through to, or why he didn't want it obvious that anything bothered him. The difference between Jake and the rest of them had been that instead of losing one parent, he'd lost both. But he'd also had a sibling, which was something the rest of them didn't have except Melissa, who had a younger half sister through her father's marriage. Still, Jake had grown up purposefully isolating himself and resenting any of them for forming friendships, or relationships of any sort. She wasn't stupid. Diana could see the resentment in his eyes everytime she'd pass by hand-in-hand with Adam in the few weeks before Jake had left without a word.

Maybe days ago, she would have resented her _own_ words, instead of thinking about how she'd seen it in him back then. Now, all she could think of was of how unfair it was. He'd seen all these things from her, knew information before her whole world and everything she'd known had been torn down, but he couldn't so much as tell her he was scared, or worried, or glad to have gotten another chance to run and fight back and ultimately win and live. Direction would have been nice to have been told. Words from her father, whether she'd have been able to follow them or not didn't matter. It would have simply been nice to hear his voice.

That night, before she'd been ripped from her home, she'd hung up the phone thinking that breaking up with Adam would tear her in half. She thought for once she'd truly know what it was to have a broken heart. There was no imagining; nothing came in comparison to how she felt now. Nothing could break her heart, or tear her in half anymore than she already was. She was even sure that a part of whatever had torn was left to burn down along with her home. Ashes- that's what her life consisted of. And she was with someone who she couldn't get away from, and wouldn't be smart to try to do a second time. That knife was held against her neck, digging deeper and deeper until she'd closed her eyes and stopped fighting against her fear to get away. Instead, she let it come over her and guide her from feeling to action. The guy's eyes staring down into her own with a look of astonishment and confusion. The blood collected in his neck and he dropped the dagger to the left of him before collapsing on top of her-

"Diana." The sudden sound, real and loud, jolted her from her thoughts. Her eyes opened, tears fell and she hadn't known she'd been crying, let alone been relaying what had happened the day before. "You gotta keep yourself from doing that, it'll eat you alive."

"How do you know what I was doing?" She looked over her shoulder at him, seeing that he was in the very same position he'd been in only moments ago. Or maybe it was hours, she had no idea how long she'd been in a fog. He only blinked at her. She turned back, knowing he wasn't going to answer her, but he kept staring at her even as she looked away, wiping the window even further to see around them, wiping her eyes next.

"You hungry? Thirsty?"

She nodded. "Thirsty."

"Stay here," he told here, the leather seat squeaking as he moved around to sit up. He held out a hand and she knew he'd want his jacket. He fished into the pocket of his jeans and took out the keys, holding them out as he leaned forward between the seats. She took the keys, looking back up at him as he pulled on his jacket, completely casual. "I'm gonna grab some stuff from the vending machines. I'll be right back."

"You're trusting me to stay here?"

He looked back at her, dark circles hanging under his eyes. "I think you learned your lesson." The door let out a sharp grinding sound, metal against metal until it was slammed shut. She could hear his heavy boots carrying along the asphalt until they disappeared down the sidewalk. She wondered how long Jake had been awake, and what his thoughts had been when he'd first opened his eyes. Diana reached to the side, sitting forward as she brought her seat back up, a squeaking sound coming out from it. Popping the keys in the ignition, she cranked the heat and wrapped her arms around herself.

Jake came back with a few bags of chips and a few soda's, he offered one and she took it, watching him set what he didn't want yet of the snack foods in the seat behind her. His eyes still hadn't met hers, and he noticed her staring without looking. "What?" Turning back to the front to reverse and set back on the road.

"Why'd you kidnap me?"

He didn't seem upset by the question, or even the least bit affected. "I was told to," he matter-of-factly stated.

"You were going to help kill me."

"Yeah." He said nothing more to that, popping a chip into his mouth as they pulled onto the highway again.

"Why don't you now?"

This time, he hesitated in thought. "Now it's different."

"How?" She pressed.

"You're a person to me now. I feel like I owe you... There's a few reasons."

But he wouldn't tell her all of them of course. That was, assuming he even knew all the reasons. She knew why he felt he owed her, but what of the other things? "I wasn't a person before?" She was prodding, but she didn't care that he knew that. She deserved to know _something_.

Jake's head shook only a couple of times before he actually responded. "Nope."

"Great," she snapped, sitting back in the seat with her arms crossed. She didn't know why she was so angry. "Thanks."

"What do you want, Diana? You asked for the truth and I'm giving it to you." Jake was just as pissed, his voice loud in the small space of the old car. "Haven't you ever heard of not asking for the truth if you don't want it?"

"I was just...hoping for-"

"A fake answer? You want me to tell you it's because they tortured me into doing it? They didn't. In fact, I volunteered."

Diana's head spun, looking at him in horror. "No."

"Yeah," he kept going. "So if you're looking for me to tell you some bullshit story that'll make you feel better about us having to hide out together, it's not gonna happen."

"That can't be it. You couldn't have been excited to kidnap someone."

"I didn't want to, but I did it anyway. I didn't see it one way or another. It was a task to be accomplished."

"I can't believe that. I won't believe it."

"Believe whatever you want, Princess. It's _your_ fantasy."

"You're a monster."

"Would you believe that I've actually been called worse?"

Something told her to drop it, leave it be, but she couldn't. It ripped out of her as harsh and as fast as he'd ripped her from her room. "You know _so many_ things about me, but you can't open up about _one_ thing?!" She threw her arms out, startling Jake who actually stopped eating for a moment to watch the road better now that she was worked up and almost screaming. "How do you feel now that Nick's dead, Jake?" Jake's jaw clenched, but she was actually glad. If this was the only way to get him to open up then so be it. Let him get mad. "C'mon, if nothing get's to you, _that_ has to, right?" This wasn't like her- yelling instead of just speaking like a normal human being, but what was normal anymore? "Or what about your parents?"

That did it. "Don't do it, Diana."

"If you'd just-"

"You start now and I'm really gonna get pissed-" He shoved the bag of chips away from him, letting it fall to the floor beside her feet.

"Then get pissed! Stop the teenage brooding crap and _feel_ something!"

"What the hell do you know about brooding?"

He was trying for his indifference, but she knew her few words would have him seething at her. Better to get something out of him than for him to continue on the way he was. Like a robot, cold and leaving her...alone. "I lost a parent too, Jake, but you lost _two_, don't you_ feel anything_?" The tires squealed as Jake swirved the car to the side of the highway. The rain had started as she had earlier figured- a fleeting thought that came to her. Her whole body almost flew forward into the windshield, forcing her to grab onto the dashboard as he slammed on the breaks. Undoing his seatbelt, he nearly flew into her seat, his face inches from her own.

"Let's settle this _now_. Don't talk about my parents, don't even bother to think of them. Not ever, and especially around me." He pushed out through clenched teeth.

Looking back and forth between his eyes gave her something honest to look at. She wanted to tell him, but it wouldn't come out.

"Don't you get tired of it? Hiding everything?"

"Stop it. Now. This isn't gonna end up the way you want it to, Princess."

* * *

_**In Chapter Three: **Thoughts start changing, a call home, a few days of keeping low-key bring two alliences nothing to face but each other, and a secret revealed._

**Note: **Thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows already you guys! You're always incredibly nice and urge me to write more. I love you all. I love this ship.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: This is fan fiction. None of the places, characters, or song titles associated with The Secret Circle or otherwise belong to me.**

* * *

_"Let's settle this now. Don't talk about my parents, don't even bother to think of them. Not ever, and especially around me." He pushed out through clenched teeth._

_Looking back and forth between his eyes gave her something honest to look at. She wanted to tell him, but it wouldn't come out._

_"Don't you get tired of it? Hiding everything?"_

_"Stop it. Now. This isn't gonna end up the way you want it to, Princess."_

**Chapter Three: _Little Talks_**

"How many people have you allowed to see you like this?"

His mouth pursed hard. Jake was rushing out so fast she didn't even have a chance to notice he was leaving the car before he was out of it, slamming the door shut behind him. For a moment, she was going to let him have his tantrum, but as she sat there while more seconds that ticked by, she became angrier. She didn't understand why he'd done all of it, including the helping to kill her part, but she wanted to. That alone was reason enough to feel angry. The door didn't shut but bounced against the lock, leaving it open just a crack. She figured he knew without turning around that she was walking up to him, the rain already working to drenching her hair entirely.

"Get back in the car," he called out to her in a shakey voice, but he sounded stern. His head was thrown back, yelling up into the rain. "I'm not gonna do this _talking_ thing you so badly want to indulge yourself in!"

"You were right. I don't know anything about brooding. I don't give myself the time to."

"Doesn't matter."

"But it does! People have to have time to grieve, and I don't give myself the opportunity. But you've grieved so much that it's taken up your whole personality, or in the very least, your ability to have any sort of solid relationship with anyone. You and I both are doing this wrong."

"Stop trying to make it seem like we have simularities or some unspoken understanding. We don't. We never will." Jake spun around, glaring at her. "I'm nothing like you, you're nothing like me. Doing _this_," he paused, passing a hand back and forth between them. "Whatever _this_ is, isn't gonna work in your favor. I'm the one thing you can't figure out how to control in your life, and it bugs the hell out of you."

_"What?"_

"Yeah." He nodded, waving a hand. "It's complicated. _You're_ complicated."

"Oh,_ I'm_ complicated?" His back faced her yet again, his hands folding behind his head. He was making a point that he wasn't going to talk to her any further, but she wasn't going to let him end the conversation, especially when she was still looking for answers from him. "What's complicating for you, Jake? The fact that you don't know how to deal with me and are stuck with me because of the stupid decisions_ you've_ made? That the reason you joined these witch hunters isn't only because you wanted retribution for your parents, but also because you can't stay in one place for too long because if get attached to even _one_ object, you're afraid it'll leave like your parents did?"

Slowly, Jake's arms came down and he faced her, a good ten feet away. He regarded her in a way that made her swallow hard, not being able to tell where his mind was at. But one thing was clear to her. "You're not that good at hiding, Jake. And we may not be simular, but we _do_ have things in common whether you like it or not. I know what it is to be scared of losing someone because of what happened sixteen years ago. I know what it is to burn with an intense need for justice..."

Jake marched right up to her, grabbing her upper arm just after she tightened her muscles, not knowing what he'd do.

"Get in the car. Give me a few minutes alone to cool down. I'm trying to be decent here."

"Let _go_ of me." Trying to pull herself from his grasp, he yanked even tighter, pulling the door open to shove her in. Before he could, she slammed it shut and was pushed against the car instead.

"God dammit, Diana! Get in the car!" Fighting against him, she managed to turn back around and shove against his chest which only swayed him where he stood. She never thought acting this way, violently at that, with Jake Armstrong would be something she'd ever do. He grabbed her wrist, forcing it down to keep her from pushing him again, which she hadn't even planned on doing, but it was enough to still her. "Stop pushing it, little girl."

"If I have to keep bringing up your parents to get something out of you, I will."

"You won't. I'll shut you up before you get one word out." He wasn't yelling, but his face was close to hers. This threat wasn't a light one. He meant what he said. What he'd do was completely questionable though. He was shaking with anger, blowing warm breath on her face from how hard he was breathing in and out. His eyes fell down for a moment to her lips and she wondered if he was looking for a lip quiver out of fear or if...he was actually thinking of kissing her.

He'd already done that once before and she could hardly remember it.

Thankfully.

With a yank, she broke his hand free of her wrist. "What are you gonna do?" She asked him, her hands lifting to slap back to her thighs. "Kidnap me?" His fist shot out and she flinched once against his hand moving, and again when his fist hit the top of the car.

His cheek was just shy of her own, but it still felt...intimate. She didn't know if he was close to her the way he was because he wanted to scare her, or if it was something else. Maybe he was reaching out the only way he knew how. She could understand that he'd speak through actions instead of words, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what he was trying to say. The car was idling, the rain pouring lightly in a sound that could be compared to hissing. They were both pretty drenched. As she lifted her eyes, she could see his hair had been flattened against his temple.

"Why're you doing this?" He asked gently, in a much calmer voice than she'd heard in a while from him.

She forced herself to speak though her voice was quiet, and against the sound of the rain and rumbling car Diana wasn't sure he'd hear her, and was scared that he might. "I don't want to feel so alone." Alone in feeling the way she did. Alone in the place they were. Since they moved from place to place, never really resting in a specific area, the only place she was thinking she didn't want to be alone in was_ together_. There was no way she'd speak that out loud to him.

Jake's chest was rising and falling. As he leaned away from her, she was able to see rain fall onto his forehead and slide down into his brow. She didn't know if he'd heard her or not but when his head fell forward, just before reaching her shoulder, she stilled. "If I...start talking, you'll shut up about my parents." It wasn't a question, and not even a suggestion, but she was going to take it anyway. Before she could tell him her response, he spoke again, his head lifting. "It's not an overnight thing. I'm not going to confess my sins in hopes that a few _Our Father's_ will erase everything."

"I don't expect that."

"What _do_ you expect then?"

"To see you as a person and not some unfeeling shell of a human." She paused then said, "You said you didn't see me as a person, well I didn't see you as one either. Until now, or at least give me the chance to."

His mouth opened, his eyes scanning her whole face. She didn't know what he was thinking of asking, but he changed his mind whatever it was.

"Fine," he quickly said, raising himself up and away from her. "Let's get to Spokane."She sighed heavily, feeling like she was breathing for the first time that day. Before Jake pulled onto the road, he turned in his seat as she buckled and said, "I don't know what to feel about Nick. We weren't close. He tried to be a few times, but I always felt the bridge was burned the moment our parents died."

Diana was as silent as he was, staring down at her hands that were in her lap. She finally asked, "Do you blame Nick for their deaths?"

Jake was quiet so long that she had to look at him. He stared straight ahead through the windshield, his focus coming back to the here and now when the wipers picked up, pushing water away from his blurred view. "It's not logical to."

"It doesn't have to be logical. Logic's kind of lost when it comes to what you feel." Her head fell back against the seat, still watching him even as he turned his own head to glance at her.

"I don't blame him." Jake turned away from her, his eyes staring out the window ahead again. His hands gripped the bottom of the steering wheel, like it was physically hard for him to say anything, much less think about it. Diana didn't dare say anything, or even move, finding that patience with him was probably the only way they were going to see eye-to-eye. Finally, he let out a breath and started talking. "I have my...mom's coloring, but I see a lot of my father in myself. My aunt swore up and down growing up that Nick looked just like dad, but when_ I_ saw Nick...I could see mom."

With just that, Diana was already understanding a bit more about Jake's hostility and distance from Nick. If she had a sibling that looked exactly like her mother, it would be like a constant reminder... She didn't tell him she was sorry, because it felt wrong to say. _Sorry for your loss_, was just people's way of saying that what happened sucked, but they couldn't do anything about it, nor did they have the right words that would make it better.

His eyes found hers looking straight at him. No words were said, but there was something about them staring at one another without any sort of indignation that left space for something else to crawl between them. Maybe something a little more than a simple understanding. His eyes wandered down, but it didn't last long enough for her to try and guess if he'd been looking at her mouth, or if his eyes had just lowered. He pulled the car back onto the road, a calming settling itself in the air around them that hadn't been there before. Even if for the time being, it was actually nice.

Diana's head lolled to the side abling her to stare outside the window.

With nothing left to say, she closed her eyes and let herself really fall asleep for the first time since being around Jake.

* * *

Tired. Exhausted. Not the least bit comfortable.

Diana trailed behind him with a few bags, keeping mostly quiet as she'd done practically the whole ride, which disturbed him since he could tell she had a lot of things on her mind. They hadn't slept yet, first going shopping which was much needed. They'd bought new clothes, a prepaid phone, and food for the next few days they'd be in the motel they were at. Not the best neighborhood, but he was more used to that than Diana was. But as they climbed the stairs to the top floor, a man outside with a cigarette in his fingers eyed her. Jake tossed a look to her, thankful she'd noticed it. At least she was aware of her surroundings now. Paranoia was sometimes good in these cases.

As soon as he opened the door to the room, he stepped aside for her to go in, shooting a look to the guy a few doors down. He eyed Jake, his mouth pulling in the smoke from the cigarette before blowing it back out. The guy threw it down over the balcony and went straight to his own room. Jake listened to the door shut before he'd lock them up and close the curtains. Diana laid on the bed they'd unfortunetly gotten stuck with. All the two bedded bedrooms were taken, which seemed rediculous, but he was eager to get hidden again.

"What was that about?" Diana pulled him from his thoughts. She was ruffling though one of the bags- the one with the bathroom items, and she pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste. She didn't seem the least bit bothered that he'd used his money, but since she didn't ask how he had any, he knew she figured it was blood money.

And she'd have been right.

"Nothing."

She eyed him, expecting more of an answer. He'd said it wouldn't be an overnight thing, but he sighed, reluctantly caving for some reason.

"I was making sure the guy got the hint."

"What hint?"

"That you were with me, and I was going to do major damage if he tried something."

With a nod, nothing was said which was out of character for her, she grabbed a few more items before pulling out some of the clothing they'd grabbed.

She hurried to the bathroom without another word and Jake went straight to the bed, shoving things over so he could stretch out. If he wasn't going to sleep on it at night, then he'd at least sleep on it while she was in the bathroom. But he couldn't sleep. Closing his eyes felt nice enough, relaxing even, but nothing in him was rested enough to fall under. He listened to the water running, this motel nicer than the last one, but still loud enough to hear through the walls. She took a while, Jake rested on his back and kept his eyes shut, nothing to stare at but blank walls and the usual motel decor. He decided not to open them until Diana emerged since she'd give him something to look at, but the thought caught on the edge of something, and he quickly sat up to put his mind to other use. Going through the food he had, he set the prepaid phone on the dresser next to him. They couldn't keep it for more than three calls, so the phone only had ten minutes on it. It was long enough, but short enough to stay safe. Before anyone might pick up how to track them if they tried. Hard to do, but it was easy to get rid of if someone in Chance Harbor had their phone tapped.

He got out the map he'd bought along with the food and bit into the packaged sandwich after unwrapping it. Unfolding the map over the bed as he did, he heard the water finally turn off. He glanced at the bedside clock which let him know she'd been in there for fourty minutes, and he'd been lounging around for the same amount. They were going to have to have a mapped plan, literally. He swallowed, taking another bite before the first had gone down. Diana came out smelling of something citrus-like which irritated him.

"Can't you ever smell normal?" He asked when she walked up. Her little shorts and regular shirt irritated him just as much.

"What?"

He didn't repeat himself. "I told you to get clothes that you could flee in, not sleep comfortably in."

She frowned and looked down at herself, her brown eyes looking back up to him with defiance. "This is fine. And they didn't have any sweats. These were the only sleeping type of bottoms I could find, and I'm not going around in my underwear again." He could see the embarrassment in her eyes, so he chose not to say anything more. But with the defiance came her chin lifting at him. He could see her in the corner of his eye while he looked down at the map, wishing that he'd never thought about her occupying his sight. Why he'd ever thought that was beyond him. "If they bug you, why didn't you say something when the cashier was ringing them up?"

"I was a little busy."

"Flirting."

He jerked his head toward her. "With?"

She shrugged, moving the bags around. "The cashier," she threw out casually. "She was flirting with you. Or trying to."

"I was a little busy," he kept on, "making sure the price didn't hit over what I was willing to pay. I have to watch between gas and food." She looked to the map, clearing her throat awkwardly. "Keep your girlish impulses to a minimum."

"Please, like you didn't consider it for at least a second."

He had a feeling he knew what she was getting at, but wanted to hear it straight out. "Consider what?"

"Sleeping with her. She was cute."

"Sounds more like _you_ were considering it." He would have laughed if her look didn't bring back the fact that this was Diana Meade. "Actually, I didn't," he answered seriously. "Believe it or not, I don't grab random people very often and bring them back to a hotel room."

"Not very often," she reminded him of his own words.

He stared directly down at the map, clearing his throat and repeating her name in his head to get his blood flowing back in the place he needed it to be: his brain. This was not the girl to pass the time with who was OK with no feelings involved.

The whole matter was thankfully looked over when she asked what he was doing.

"Going over which way we'll take back into town."

"They'll have guys at each entrance."

Jake's eyebrows rose. "Exactly," he said, slightly pleased she'd at least caught onto that little detail.

"We'll have to come in through the woods or something. Sneak in on foot maybe." This time he actually looked at her. The dark circles were still there, but something else too. She caught him, double taking until she made a face at him. "What?"

"A shower and you come on point? I'll never understand women."

She almost grinned. "It's not a woman thing."

"Isn't it?"

Her head shook, wet hair falling out of the braid that had no tie on the end. She went on, leaning down to point out and trail her finger along one of the highways. "My grandma takes this one into town because it always has less people on it. Might not be a good idea, since dealing with them, we'll probably want an audience."

"Which is why we should take that way because they'll be expecting it of me."

She rose back up, a whiff of her passing over him which almost made him want to hold his breath. He crossed an arm over his abdomen using it as support for his elbow so he could cover his mouth and nose with one hand- the old leather smell from the steering wheel was better than the citrus stuff which made him forget all about where they were, what they were doing, and who the hell they were. He needed a shower. A cold one.

"They'll expect you to be using the less crowded, trying to think ahead of you. We should use the less secluded one, park, walk through the woods there."

She was right, surprisingly enough. "It's a longer walk."

"We'll get there early."

Jake grabbed the bag he knew was full of his own shit and headed for the bathroom. He paused before shutting the door. "Last time I showered, you took off."

"I think I've learned my lesson," she mimicked back to him.

He shut the door right after, almost groaning and leaning against it. He'd come in to get a moment to rethink and reset himself, not to engulf his senses with citrus and skin. And hair. All very feminine, all very much effecting a part of himself he didn't want effected. He thought if anything, the fact that he'd stolen her from her house would put the breaks on his own hormones, but no luck. Jake tugged off his shirt, tossing it to the corner of the small bathroom. He decided resting on the fact that she was Diana Meade, and even that did nothing anymore. His eyes shut tightly as he turned on the shower, listening to it hum- to the spray of the shower head hitting against the tile and flooring of the tub.

Thinking of her dad burning in the house did the trick.

_"I don't want to be alone in this."_

He knew it must have been the sound in her voice, the absolute honesty that was there, something he lacked in a big way. He stood under the spray a palm flat letting it hit his head and around his shoulders. He was sorry, but he couldn't fix it. He was with people he thought he was doing a good thing for- ridding the world of the very evil that took his parents out. But it wasn't magic that was evil, it was people.

Diana was the very product of evil, or of what could easily become it. Yet here he was, doing way worse than she ever could, and he didn't have a trace of it. His parents, for God's sake, were such warm hearted people, so caring and loving of their family and friends... And he was nothing like them. With a frusterated smack, the water turned off and he stepped out after washing himself.

Half-ass drying, he pulled on his new clothes and stepped out. As he walked around the corner and into the main room, he stopped seeing Diana sleeping on the bed. She kept to one side as if used to someone being on the other, and he didn't let himself think too much into that aspect as he walked closer, thinking that she'd wake or simply lift her eye lids when she heard him. But even with a little bit of noise, she didn't so much as flinch in response.

Easily, he bent down to sit on the edge of the bed, seeing that she'd moved the map onto the small table there in the room, a small question mark on the road her grandmother used with the motel's pen. If he was honest, he was glad for the company. He was glad to have someone on his team, whether they saw eye-to-eye with him or not. Most of the time was not. The bed moved slightly and he took a look over his shoulder at her, seeing her roll over, a frown creasing between her eyebrows. Thinking in her sleep, which he found strange and completely captivating. He wasn't sure how he should have been feeling, but he was at least sure that watching someone the way he was could have been considered creepy in every country.

"You ready?"

Diana's eyes held his a moment longer before nodding furiously, an excited air about her as he held the phone in his hand. Calling home was something she'd been eager about the moment he'd bought the phone. He just hoped she'd stay smart about what they'd talked about.

It was late morning, everyone should have been at school by then, but she said it was between classes, and he took her word for it. He dialed the number Diana told him to and waited as it rang from the other end. He handed the phone over, keeping eye contact with Diana as he said he would to lead her through the conversation. Only thing he didn't expect was that he wouldn't hear whoever it was on the other line and there was no time to figure out how to pull up the speaker phone, when someone answered. He shoved against her, grabbing her hand to tilt the phone between their meeting heads. Diana was stiff, but there was no time to bicker about how close he'd gotten, and she must've caught on to it.

Adam's voice was a lot lower than Jake remembered. He almost cringed, realizing who it was and who she'd decided to call.

"Hello?" He asked warily.

"Adam," she breathed into the phone, the stiffness in her instantly dying.

"Diana," he paused. "Where are you?!" Least the guy was actually thankful at hearing her voice.

"Safe," she said into the phone, using Jake's exact word he'd told her to use.

"Jesus, we've all been worried sick! We've barely been sleeping! Are you OK? Where are you?"

Even though it was a natural thing to ask, Jake wished Adam would break the mold and not be so damn annoyingly persistant. Diana didn't seem the least bit bothered to repeat herself, which gnawed at Jake a bit, though he didn't know why.

"I'm OK now. I'm safe-" Jake cut her off by waving his hand for her to hurry up. She stumbled on her words until she found the right ones to go by. Adam had began to speak, but she talked over him. "There's something you need to know and tell the others about, but you guys can't be obvious about it."

"What?" Adam pressed.

"There are witch hunters in town. They...kidnapped me. They're the ones who...killed my dad."

"What?" Adam sounded completely dumbfounded. "What do you mean? Where?"

"In Chance Harbor..." Jake swung his hand around again and she hurried. "Listen, I don't have much time because they'll try tracking this phone the moment they realize I've gotten a hold of you, but you have to act normal. Go about your business as you would. Worry about me. Keep acting like you don't know where I am. Tell the others everything I've said to you, alright?"

"Diana, your dad's-"

"I know. Just please don't call back this number, it's the only way I can reach you for now, okay?"

"Y-Yeah. But I don't understand."

"I know. I'll contact you again. Delete this number from your phone as soon as we hang up."

Jake pulled the phone from her hand and hung it up, looking at her to make sure she was OK. He didn't know what to do to make it better, so he stood up and placed the phone on the nightstand, grabbing his clothes to change.

"We have to head out. Grab some groceries, find some other things we'll be needing. Maybe get you a wig."

"Wig?" Her voice was thick and it made Jake's skin tighten. He merely nodded, kicking his shoes until they sat on their soles, ready for him to jam his feet in.

The magazine he was looking through wasn't doing it for him. He thought getting different mental images to go by- more recent ones- and he'd be able to block out other...images.

Diana jumped around the corner, making some weird noise that made Jake jerk in surprise.

"I actually scared you?"

He glared at her, trying to go back to reading over the magazine he was fishing through. She came forward and grabbed it, her eyes scanning the pages and he cursed, giving a great sigh because he was not up for any kid games in a store they were there to get in and out of. Apparently going unseen had no resignation with her.

"Maxim?" She lifted her eyebrows at the magazine then to him.

He snatched it back and threw it back on the shelf. Leave it to Diana Meade to go from five year old to teenage girl in seconds flat.

"Guy's gotta have something."

"Gross."

He shrugged, grabbing her shoulders to lead her out of the aisle. "Why don't you focus that energy on something useful?"

Diana's shoulders moved around, giving Jake the hint that she didn't want him touching her. "Like?"

"Like finding another identity."

"I told you, the way I look is just fine. If I don't look like your blonde bimbo's from your magazine's, then-"

"You don't have to be blonde-"

"Just a bimbo?"

He smiled and was thankful she couldn't see it. "Another look would be useful if we ever had to split up. I can't hide, they know me too well, but you..." He paused, grabbing a straw hat from the small costume aisle they had of Halloween costumes and put it on the top of her head. "Can get away easily if you look slightly different." She rolled her eyes up as if she could see the shadow the straw cast over her and pulled it off.

"But I think Farmer John, would be a better look for _you_." She placed it on his head, but he grabbed it before she could get any sense of what he'd look like, which was probably rediculous, in his mind anyway. He tossed it to the side and watched her spin around, looking at the costumes with growing interest. What was it about dressing up that got girls so excited? "We should get Halloween candy. There's bound to be old horror movies playing. Even with the six channels we get."

When she paused, focusing on an outfit that she pulled around on the hanger, he paused and leaned down next to her ear. "I think you have me confused with your own sex."

Her head snapped in his direction as he began to walk away again. "What?"

"I'm not a girl. Scarfing on junk food while watching movies that would make us cuddle up and scream together isn't my ideal night."

"Please, I hardly would go that far with you." He didn't tell her how _far_ that meaning went since it was only one for her. "And I think it's impossible to mistake you for a female, Jake. Your testosterone practically leaks-"

She flinched against him when he brought his hand over her mouth, glancing around them as he held her closely to keep her from easily prying herself loose.

"Using my name outloud probably isn't a good idea."

She was perfectly still against him, and the thought of cuddling in blankets while she squealed in excited fear suddenly didn't seem like some teenage nightmare come to life. It actually sounded pretty damn appealing. Especially when he knew what her pajama outfit would be. Those little shorts of hers and the tight t-shirt.

He let her go instantly, heading to another aisle.

By the time they got out of there it was already night, and Jake's nerves were on edge. She was acting pretty normal, considering their arrangement, but it was also hard to know since he hadn't seen her in two years, not knowing her that well to begin with. On a personal level, anyway. She was showering again, apparently used to taking one everyday, and he would be damned for all eternity at the thoughts he was having about the annoying girl he'd kidnapped who's father was just killed.

Both of them.

He laid back on the bed, his hands rubbing over his face to get rid of the images that flooded his mind. At some point, she'd be able to feel the urgency from him, and if she didn't go running, he definetly would. He reminded himself it was his body's reaction to a long time without, and the fact that it seemed to know Diana was female, nevermind an off-limits one. He had to get out. So he did. He grabbed the key and locked up behind him, making sure to check around himself before heading down passed the small lobby. He'd been planning on a short walk around the building, but stopped when he saw a woman behind the counter. A nice looking one at that. But what appealed to him was the bottle she was taking secret swigs out of.

"Well, Happy Halloween to me." He was thankful. He waltzed in, hands in his pockets, throwing a grin on his face when she saw him coming and straightened. She was an older woman, probably only around her mid-thirties. Her skin kind of dragged from excessive drink and smoke, which he could smell on her. A smell he was used to with the hunters. Vices that had no other outlets. Jake leaned down on the counter, eyeing the nearly full bottle of Jack.

"You happen to have any liquer?"

"There's a gas station across the street," she offered him, but he could see the ghost of a smile on those thin lips. She was trying to be noble. Little did she know.

"Yeah, but in the state of Washington, there's nothing _hard_ available. I was hoping for some Whiskey, or something to get me a little buzzed. Or drunk. Either would be nice." The woman tried to remain a good citizen, but Jake knew she wouldn't last against his charm, and he knew his looks, no matter how much of an dick it made him seem like. He was the first offspring of his mother and father, after all. The both of them had been good looking and pretty damn charming themselves. Jake layed it on thick, leaning forward, contemplating at least getting a little drunk and maybe fooling around. At least a little. He so obviously needed the edge taken off considering how he was acting toward Diana. "Listen, I'm sure you know what it is to just want to calm yourself right down to your bones, you know?"

The woman grinned at him, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow because she wasn't buying it, but he knew she'd cave. He might not have had a way with words, but he had a way with looks. "You look twenty-two, but you can't be too careful nowadays." She reached down, pulling up a small _closed _sign that sat right there on the desk. She took the neck of the bottle and turned half ways away beyond the front counter. "I've got twenty minutes break."

Diana would be fine for twenty minutes. The door was locked, there was no one around or he would have been the first one grabbed since he was the hardest to get to. Eben would want him dead first, before anyone else. So, he straightened from the counter and let her lead the way. His thumb skimmed his bottom lip, glancing behind him at the small windows and glass doors that no one was coming through. He'd never been one for sleeping around, which was why he'd gone so long without anyone, but he wasn't anywhere close to being a virgin either. And what he mostly wanted out of this was a distraction.

The woman reached back, grabbing his collar and pulling him with her into a secluded room. She let him take the bottle from her hands, which he thumbed the cap off of, taking a swig as she locked the door behind them. She was on him then. His head was leaned back, pushing away the burn that filled his nose from how much he was chugging from the bottle. Her mouth was on his neck, biting on his skin when she reached a point and touched it with the pad of her pointer finger.

"What's this from? You hook up often?"

He let his chin fall, panting a bit from how much of the bottle he'd been swallowing down, feeling it settle deep in his belly and rushing straight to his head. "What?" He touched where she was talking about and his face fell. It was from Diana fighting against him.

"Not that I'd blame you. You're...gorgeous. And to have a girl scratch at you..." She bit her lip, trying to add to her appeal.

He didn't want to have sex with this woman, not knowing where she'd been or who with. She was pretty enough, as shallow as he knew it was. Her eyes were bright blue, lined to help show them off, looking up at him with an expectancy that felt empty. That smell of cigarettes lingered around her, but he willed himself to look passed it, needing the distraction he was searching for. She took his hand, guiding it against her jeans between her legs, and Jake pushed her back until they reached a table where he let the bottle drop. Her hands were in his hair, and he took one of her legs, pulling it against him to help pick her up and lean her back onto the table. She reached over, grabbing the bottle and instead of taking it herself, pushed it against his own lips. He gladly grabbed it from her, chugging more as she moved her head around, kissing along the side of his neck that wasn't scratched from Diana.

Who was alone in the room.

_Damn it._

He pulled her away from him, hearing the smack of her lips when she released him. He raked his hand through his hair, throwing more of the bottle back, ignoring the sick feeling now filling his stomach.

"That girl you came with not doing it for you?"

Instead of getting dumbly upset over the comment, he threw the woman a wink and took the bottle, raising it up. She shook her head at him. "I didn't even get off."

"Is that what it'll cost for the bottle?"

She regarded him, her eyes not really leaving his chest.

"I was kind of hoping to do that for _you_ instead."

He was not about to take himself out and let the woman suck him off for a bottle of whiskey. He handed it back. "Thanks for the distraction."

She took it from him, her eyes wide and angry. He didn't have time to throw around apologies, and he honestly didn't care to. Diana was left alone in the room, and he felt guilty for it. As soon as he had the door unlocked and opened it, the woman behind him stopped him. "You're giving up a perfectly good hook up, no strings?"

"Guess I am," he replied with a frown. He was halfway down the hall when he heard her step out, probably going back to the front desk.

"You're the first."

Jake left the little office, thinking that last comment of hers was more than likely meant to boost her own ego rather than his.

The same man from earlier was standing outside the door when he made it up the concrete steps. Smoke blew out and up over his balding head. Jake slowed when he reached the top floor, his hands in his pockets as he watched the guy who still hadn't noticed he'd come up.

He'd been an idiot for leaving. The man was just waiting for opportunity, somehow obviously knowing Jake had left. If Diana so much as peeked out, wondering where he was, the guy would take no time in grabbing her wrist and yanking her out to do God knew what. Jake didn't move, just waiting for the guy to notice him, his beer belly in full view from the side, growing with his age. In profile, Jake guessed around his late thirties. He didn't know if Diana would bother looking for him, if she might worry, but he was gonna give the guy the benefit of the doubt- a chance to turn and go back to his room. The man's head turned away from Jake, dropping the low cigarette beside his dirty boot before stepping on it a single time.

Just as Jake feared she might, or feared she might not, the door made a series of clicks before it came open. Her eyes scanned the man and she pulled back just as Jake started walking forward. She was rushing to close the door when the man threw himself into it, knocking her back. Instead of screaming like she should have, she instantly went for the lamp beside the bed, yanking out the cord from the wall and holding it as a weapon, but Jake was already there.

He pumbled himself into the man, sending both of them to the hard floor. Jake was quick, raising himself up to blow a punch to the guy's head, but he wasn't as easy to take out as Doug had been. The guy rolled, grabbing Jake by the collar and slamming his fist into his jaw. It jerked his head to the side, but thankfully the guy hadn't had enough room for a good enough blow. Jake was still on top, he pulled his elbow back, laying it into the guy's face who's eyes shook within it's sockets. Without hesitation, Jake threw yet another and another fist, feeling his knuckles take a good portion of the pain. His fist hit in all the places he knew affected the most- one to the temple, another right below the chin, again to his temple, until the man finally slumped. His moaning was the only sound in the room. Jake was pleased enough that the man wouldn't rise, and stood up, his head almost making him sway. He couldn't tell if it was from the booze or from the blow he'd taken.

His eyes found Diana beside the bathroom door, her hand clutching the towel around her, her hair still wet and dripping. Jake squeazed his eyes shut, rubbing a couple of fingers against his temple because it would have been so easy for the guy to rip that towel open and-

"Where the hell were you?!" Eyes snapping open, he stared at her in disbelief. Out of all the things she could be upset about... "If you'd been here, I wouldn't have opened the door looking for you!" The guilt hit his gut, making the whiskey swim around in his stomach and the same within his head. Instead of answering anything, he bent down to the guy and moved his hand over his head, whispering a spell that would cause him to pass out.

Jake watched Diana peek out, looking back and forth before throwing a hand back to wave him forward. With a tug, he followed her out of their room, dragging the heavy man by both of his legs. He stopped, looking around them for anyone who might see them. If that were the case then they might have a problem.

"The key," Diana said.

He nodded to the door. "Unlock it."

She understood what he meant and stared down at the lock, but instead of chanting like she was probably used to, she put her hand over it and it instantly responded, sending the sound of a click through the door. Jake didn't have time to be pleased at the moment, he followed her in after she'd pushed the door open and let the guy's head smack onto the carpeting as he tugged him in the rest of the way. Jake pulled out the guy's wallet, looking at his I.D.

"Christopher Randall."

"Jake, let's go," she snapped to him in a quick whisper.

He pulled out the cash in there, which was only a couple of twenties and a five, seeing the look of disapproval from her, but he was sure he didn't have to remind her of why it didn't matter to take the creep's money, and they were low anyway.

Jake was the one to lock it behind them, pocketing the money and following her back into their own room where she quickly disappeared to get dressed. But before she did, she turned in his general direction, as if there was something she wanted to say, but her mouth snapped closed and she headed into the bathroom.

There were probably a few things she wanted to say to him, but he decided her saying _thank you_ would have been unnecessary, considering what he'd done.

After brushing his teeth and watching her walk out of the bathroom fully dressed, he took in the smell that followed her out, still lingering from her shower, and since his buzz was gone, he felt irritated. He walked passed where she was bent over at the waist, dabbing the towel over her wet hair.

He plopped down on the bed. "You can have the floor tonight." His muscles ached. "I deserve it for rescuing your feminine diginity."

"What?" She snapped quickly. "Oh, no way." Her legs carried her right to the bed. "_You_ made this mess, now you have to deal with it. I get the bed."

He covered his eyes with his arm by throwing it over his face, welcoming the sick feeling and drunk haze the alcohol brought on. "What mess?"

"The stealing me? The bringing me here? Leaving me alone, while I was in the shower!"

"Oh, yeah," he replied flatly, having known perfectly well what she'd meant the first time. But hearing it out loud from her would hopefully bring him down to some level he so clearly needed to get back on. Back to the fact that she was Diana Meade, a girl with a whole bag full of problems he couldn't add to his own.

"What's wrong? Why're you acting...weird?"

"I lost my buzz. Leave me alone." He let his arm fall from his face so he could see the disgusted look she was giving him.

"Buzzed? Where'd you- How'd you get alcohol?"

He sat up to get a clear view of her. "What?"

She leaned forward, putting out a hand to talk with like he was a disobeying child, and she was telling him what he was in time-out for. "How are you drunk, Jake? Where'd you get the alcohol?"

But he wasn't drunk. "Woman downstairs."

Her eyes went wide, her mouth turning in absolute distaste over him. "You left me alone in here to get laid and get drunk?"

"I made sure you were fine." He'd gotten himself into a whole mess and suddenly the distraction that had turned into his own distruction, blew up.

"Made sure I was_ fine_?! While you were doing what? Drinking and letting some woman lick all over you?"

Something like that, but he wasn't about to say. It had been a bad idea, but he didn't know how to fix it. "This is who I am."

"No," she said slowly, shaking her head at him. "It's not who you are at all. It's what you _choose_ to do."

She stayed in the bathroom for a long time. She was right. He'd chosen to do it, but he didn't even know the exact reason. The fact that he was male was a lame excuse, and he knew that all along since the first thought he'd had over it. Something was off about him, and Diana wasn't helping that. It had been off for a few weeks, even before this passed one.

Diana came back out, her lanky body moving around, organizing things to make them easy to grab.

"Eat something," he told her. "You're looking thin, and you've barely had anything."

"Take the bed," she said, ignoring everything he'd just told her. "I don't care."

"Don't worry about it. The floor's fine."

She rolled her eyes, putting an outfit on the back of the chair, making it easy to change into if something were to happen. "We're both old enough. I'm sure I can trust you'll be a gentleman, and not do anything stupid."

He stared at her, holding the pillow in his hand that he'd been about to toss down to the floor. Was she offering him to take the bed _with_ her? "Where'd this come from? You locked yourself in the bathroom to stay away from me, and now you're willing to give me one half of the bed?" He thought for a moment. "Did you take one of those hunters weapons? Are you planning to use it?"

She glared at him with dark eyes. "You hate me anyway. I'm pretty sure you won't try anything."

He put the pillow on top of the bed, sighing and rubbing his hands over his face. He was in way over his head. "You think I hate you?" She wouldn't have been on his mind while the woman was ready and willing if he hated her. He wouldn't have come back early to catch the guy- he wouldn't feel so damn guilty.

"Don't you?"

"No, but you hate _me_." Which he couldn't blame her for.

"I thought I did, but I don't know _who_ to hate, Jake. You for being stupid enough to be brain washed by them, or them for being evil enough to do it."

He stared at her, long and hard, wondering just what was going through her mind at the moment. Had she been thinking this way for a while, or had it been a momentary revelation for her? The non-surprised look on her face and in her eyes told him the thoughts had been there a while. He didn't know whether to be pissed with himself or the situation they were in. He didn't even know what to be mad about anymore.

His voice lowered. He was about to offer the same courtesy of being honest. "I can't sleep in a bed with you wearing that, smelling like that. It's torture."

Diana's hair moved over her shoulder when her head snapped around. He made sure to look back at her with a clear expression, letting her know he was completely serious. "Me?"

Was she doubting she was good looking, or was it because they were so obviously not each other's types that she didn't believe he'd make a move? Or maybe it was because he'd kidnapped her, dragged her out of her home after forcing himself on her, and let her house burn down with her father inside of it?

He was prepared for this to haunt him, right alongside his parents deaths.

"I'm a guy."

Her eyebrows came together in a deep frown. "That's sick, Jake. The excuse that you have a..." Her voice trailed in thought.

"A penis," he offered.

She swallowed hard, but forced herself to seem annoyed instead of effected. Was she? Was she effected? He didn't know why he hoped so. "The hooker didn't do anything for you?"

He sat back down on the bed, not about to argue the offer anymore. "She wasn't a hooker. I have _some_ taste."

If the days kept going this rapidly, they'd have no problem dealing with each other at least a little longer.

She came to the bed, setting it up and pushing back the sheets before climbing in. He laid himself over the top of everything, not giving the chance to bump legs, which would be...weird.

She sat up staring down at him. "Think you can keep your pig tendencies to yourself?"

His eyes rolled over to meet with hers, no more humor shared. "I think I can refrain." He regretted ever opening his mouth, even more so that he was acting the way he was. It was completely weak, what he was doing.

A nod was given, and she was scooting down into the bed, facing her back to him as she got comfortable. "Strange to think you can overlook that you were going to kill me only a few days ago, and now are fighting with your manly demons to keep your hands from taking off my clothes."

His eyes shut tightly, fighting with images instead of demons at that moment before he opened them again, hearing the click of the lamp beside the bed. It fell silent, but he knew she wasn't even close to sleeping. "I don't think I'd have gone through with it."

A realization that hit him harder than it would have her. He was in disbelief to his own words. Or had he even said them out loud? Maybe they'd just slipped through the forefront of his mind and echoed and...

Diana cleared her throat, her voice a whole lot softer than it had been. "Let's just go to bed and forget all of it. You probably will anyway."

He wasn't even drunk, not even buzzed anymore, but so long as he was able to sleep on the bed, he'd let her think whatever she wanted. He'd deceived her this much, what was one more thing? It made him sick- deceiving her and giving a shit that he had. She was a whole lot complicated and very little breathing room. Jake made sure to keep his back to her the whole night. Even when he went to turn over, he'd force himself to go back to the side that felt uncomfortable. But nothing was more uncomfortable than how he was feeling, if it even was feeling and wasn't some mixed up mess going on in his head. Guilt hanging around which he didn't want there. He fell asleep with confusing thoughts weighing in on his emotions.

Jake sat looking over the map in front of him sprawled on the bed while Diana flipped through the channels on the TV, sighing every so often at the fact that she couldn't find anything to watch. Halloween was over, and there was nothing left to watch. He bit into the apple he was holding and tried to focus on the plan he was trying to make, and not the teenage girl with a body that tested that logic, her legs up on the side of the table the TV sat on. Finally, she jerked upright in the chair, turning off the TV and slamming the remote down on the top of it, her hands pushing her thick hair from her face in frusteration as she stood.

"I can't do this. I'm going crazy. We have to do something."

"Just chill out. Haven't you ever had a moment to relax?"

Her hands fell to her sides as she approached him. "Not when I have crazy witch hunters trying to kill me and my friends. Not when I'm trying to keep my mind from spreading all out at once. I can't cry. I can't hit anything. I have all this rage inside of me that I can't get out."

Jake took attention at that point, dropping the apple on the paper, hearing it crinkle as he flexed his leg out from under him. "You keep this up and all that rage is gonna come out, and I have a feeling you won't like how it decides to."

She nodded in understanding. "I know, that's why I can't stand sitting here like this. We have to do something, Jake. I feel guilty for not doing anything-"

"Do you feel guilty, or do you feel curious?"

"I'm not curious. I've felt it more than once, I don't like it."

"Don't like it or are scared of it?"

"Both."

He looked toward the map, the next destination circled. He leaned down, pointing at it so she could see. "There's a field in between here. I think it might be perfect for you to...practice."

"I don't want to practice."

"Think about it, tonight and tomorrow. I'll pull over and you can make your decision then. Fair?"

She turned from him, slowly walking the two steps back to the TV, grabbing the remote again and turned the box on. He watched her as she flipped through channels and bet to himself that she wasn't even seeing them. Something about it tugged at him, but he sat back down on the bed and grabbed his apple from where it rolled over the colored paper. Lines everywhere covered the entire state of Washington, yet he couldn't decide on one thing from the other. The lines began imprinting themselves into his skull, and he was sure he'd have the whole map permanantly cemented in his brain by the time he was done.

When they both laid down that night, backs to each other, Diana spoke before Jake shut his eyes.

"I should hate you." It was so softly spoken, that he wasn't sure he'd heard her or not.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did."

Nothing was said after that, but he was sure they'd had some sort of a breakthrough.

* * *

As soon as Adam picked up, Diana was talking.

"We're taking one of the roads in, not knowing which one yet and we'll park beside the road and walk into town through the woods and probably come out on the beach."

"Diana, what-"

"I only have so many minutes, and I might need those when we park. Did you hear me though? We don't know which road yet, but I'll let you know as soon as we do. We'll park and walk into town through the woods, come out onto the beach."

"Who's we?"

Diana felt Jake's hand drop from hers while they'd been holding the phone, like he'd suddenly become aware of how close they were, and how strange it would be to everyone else. She kept herself from glancing at him.

"Not important. I'm safe though. Perfectly safe."

Adam sighed into the phone and Jake pulled away from the phone to eye her. She didn't need to turn her head to know he was trying to tell her to hurry up. Funny what a week's time spent day in and day out with someone could do with learning about someone's...quirks.

"I hate this. We all hate this. Everyone's worried sick. Including your dad. I know we have people after us, but-"

_Including your dad._

_Including your dad..._

Nothing was heard after those words. A hand gripped hers, pulling the phone from it as it was hung up. She didn't want to hang up, but Jake was pulling her up and holding her. Suddenly she realized she was trembling violently. It felt like the night Jake had her neck in his hand. That large hand now was holding the back of her head to him, her mouth pressed just beneath the collar of his shirt against his chest. He was muttering something to her, but she couldn't hear it until he tightened his hold to where it cut her breath short, and he released just as fast.

She sucked in a deep breath.

"...Diana." Jake was saying something, but she hadn't heard what. He pulled her against him all over again, and this time she clung to him, reaching out for any type of support that was given. Her body shook hard against him and finally, a sob escaped her mouth. She was having a hard time breathing, but for some reason, she felt like if Jake let her go, she'd completely crumble into nothing.

Her father was alive. Her dad was alive. How could it be? Did he crawl out of the fire? Was he in the hospital?

She needed answers.

"Jake-"

"We'll call back, but the noise you made scared me." Slowly, he pulled away from her, but she couldn't let go of him. Her hands simply wouldn't fall away.

Jake peered down into her face, his eyes careful as he watched her like he was wary of what she might do.

"He's alive."

Jake nodded. "Those emotions stirring inside of you right now-"

She didn't give him a chance to say anything else. "I know," she told him, gaining her wits about her again. "I know, and I have control over them. I won't use magic. It's never been like that for me. It won't now." The words had barely been audible even to her own ears, but Jake seemed to have understood each one.

A ghost of a smile came over his mouth, but was gone as soon as he began to talk. "I know you do, but that doesn't mean you feel all right. Are you? Are you all right to call back?"

Her eyes widened. "I thought we don't have the minutes?"

Jake stared at her a second longer, closing his eyes briefly, he shook his head and took a half step away from her. Still, her hands gripped his shirt and she moved with him, afraid of him disappearing on her, which was a rediculous feeling. She felt tears fall from her eyes and sniffed, trying to force her voice to be strong so she could talk to Adam again. Jake leaned down, taking the phone back from the nightstand, but she still didn't let go. He hadn't answered her question, but did so in his actions, redialing the number and reaching behind him to grab one of her hands, putting the phone there. Forcing her right hand to let go just wasn't happening, and even as close to him as she was, neither of them seemed to be bothered. She was much too eager to hear Adam's voice mention her dad again than how much of the same air her and Jake were sharing. Or that she could smell him.

Adam picked up on the second ring. "Diana?" He rushed out in question.

Jake groaned. "Tell him not to say your name when you call."

So she did, quickly, and Adam passed easily over it.

"I tried to tell you last time that your grandma Kate came and took him out of town with her when he was released from the hospital."

Diana smiled, but tears fell down her face. "Is he..."

"He made it out with a broken nose, that's it. Listen, our parents know. We couldn't keep it from them anymore since your house..." His voice trailed, but she understood and nodded, though he couldn't see it. He went on saying, "And your dad was beaten up by those witch hunters. And you're taken... We couldn't keep it a secret anymore. But your dad wants to hear from you." He was rushing his words, which only reminded Diana of the short time they had on the phone. But as she stared up at Jake, he didn't force her off of the phone. But he _did_ shake his head furiously in reply to Adam's words, but his eyes spoke of his empathy for her. He felt sorry she couldn't contact her dad, but it was OK. He was OK. Everything came back to her, the fighting spirit, way more than before and she knew it had been taken out of her in the first place because of her father being gone. But he was here. Still here.

"Give my love to him," her voice squeaked at the end. "And we'll contact you when we can."

"Who's _we_? Dia-" He cut himself off, sighing out of frusteration because he couldn't say her name, and she didn't wait to hear anything else. She quickly hung up and tossed the phone back onto the dresser, maybe a little harder than she'd intended, but her face was wet, and tears were still falling and tiny noises were escaping her mouth, but she relayed the information to Jake anyway. His face was stoic, as always, but she could hear what he couldn't convey on his face, in his voice.

His head hung to level his eyes with her own. "You know you can't call your father right? They'll know he's alive, and they follow through. Since that's the case, they'll be expecting you to call him..."

"It's not only dangerous for me, but for him, too. I get it."

He nodded, his hand absently running up and down the arm that was still around his waist, her hand still clutching there. When she finally pulled it away, he let her, but grabbed her wrist when it came into view. "We should have gotten medicine for this."

"Yours is worse than mine."

He didn't say anything to that. Instead, his thumb ran over the healing skin and he let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry you can't talk to your dad." It could have been the overwhelming feelings over her father, or the fact that Jake, for the first time, really seemed to hurt over all of what had happened the past week. No pretenses, no hidden meanings or other things left completely unsaid. He'd stated it right there, his eyes hitting hers then.

Diana raised her arm to throw it around his neck, hugging herself to him on the tops of her feet. He didn't move at first, probably stunned, but she closed her eyes tightly, needing to feel someone, anyone, who gave an ounce of care toward her father. At the moment, that was Jake, and she couldn't contain not being able to cling to someone. Finally, she felt Jake's hand come up, only one, tentively touching the middle of her back. It was that small gesture, and the one where he'd grabbed her to calm her, that made her glad it was him. Someone was going to kidnap her, one of those witch hunters would have done it, but it had been Jake. And if it had been someone else, she would have surely been killed by now. Maybe it was the fact that she was so far from home, and everything with her father, and then her and Jake here- but she felt different. Awake for the first time.

His hand fell from her when she pulled back to wipe all the wetness from her eyes.

"We need to start packing up. Get out of here. Get closer to home. Now that we know your dad..." His voice trailed and she actually grinned at the fact that he was trying to be gentle where her father was concerned.

"Is alive?" She offered, and he took it with a nod of his head.

"We need to figure out how to get everyone together, form a plan without being caught. You said the adults know, which is good because we're not gonna be able to do this alone. Not with all of you not knowing of how to really use your magic."

"I'm sorry," she suddenly spat out as he began walking away.

A rumpled shirt was in his hand, about to make it into the black bag when he turned at the waist on her words. His brows furrowed. "For?"

"For...leaping on you like that. Hugging you. I was just-" She stopped, thinking of how it must have felt to him. Here she had her father back, in a fire just like so many years ago, and his parents had died. He'd never gotten them back. And now his brother was gone, too. She suddenly felt incredibly low.

"Diana," Jake said, pausing until she looked at him again. "I'm glad you have your dad back. He wasn't meant to go. Not like that."

"Either were-"

Jake's hand went up sharply, making her words hold on the tip of her tongue. "No. That was different."

She nodded as he turned back around, like she hadn't spoken at all. Like he hadn't held her out of instinct when she'd been breaking down over hearing from Adam about her dad. Or maybe he'd done it because he was scared she would have used her magic?

But she couldn't help remembering how tightly he'd held her against him, all hardness like stone, but not at all cold. Like he'd somehow known she'd needed it, to feel like she wasn't floating out of her body, but was tightly secured in it.

He'd known what she needed before she had, and something about that scared her.

If Jake hadn't been the one to kidnap her, she would have died thinking her father was dead. Worse still, he would have lost her forever. For Diana, losing both of her parents would have been unbearable. Diana's eyes rested on Jake's back as he began packing a few things, moving others around. She could only imagine what it could have been like for Jake, and Nick as well. They had their aunt, but she was an oblivious woman and rarely left her house as it was. Somehow, the thought of her dad not only losing her mom, but her too, was something she couldn't even imagine. There was no way of knowing how he would have ever lived with that.

"We have extra money, so we'll be able to get a two bed at the next place." She was nodding, though he couldn't see it. "And I still have an idea I want to try with you, which I know you're gonna fight with me over."

What came to her mind was how she was seeing Jake now. An actual person. Before, he'd been someone she wanted to get away from and stay away from, but now she could see that the safest place for her was where he was.

She didn't necessarily like that.

And once they got home, she'd be doing a lot of excuse giving on his behalf.

* * *

_**In Chapter Four: **A means to an end, patience is a virtue, Diana realizes Jake had been right the whole time: they were just kids playing with fire._


End file.
